Brides of Christ — Season 1
A story of devotion in a time of controversy
About this season
Diane, a young woman growing up in Australia in the mid 1960s, walks away from her fiancé to join a convent after being sure she has a calling to the faith. The Catholic Church and its followers are struggling with huge changes. The Pope has died, there is war in Vietnam and mandatory conscription, there is the Vatican controversy on abortion and contraception, and the changing face of the Church as a whole. Told in six parts, Diane faces her own demons and has to finally decide if she can teach what the Church preaches, or if it's simply impossible for her to reconcile all the contradictions of the faith and uphold her vow of obedience.
Episodes (6)
1. Diane
Aired 4 September 1991 • 55 min
Diane is due to be married but unsure of her feelings for her husband to be and her strong feelings of faith, she shocks her family by deciding to enter the Santo Spirito convent as a postulant.
2. Frances
Aired 11 September 1991 • 55 min
New to the school and coming from a broken home, Frances struggles to find friends, and a place in the stratified world of boarding school.
3. Ambrose
Aired 18 September 1991 • 55 min
Vatican II causes turmoil in the Order with its instructions for change and simplification within the Church. A lay teacher arrives at the convent.
4. Rosemary
Aired 25 September 1991 • 55 min
Rosemary, a student at the convent school, struggles with her own awakening independence and education about her sexuality, from which she has been sheltered.
5. Paul
Aired 2 October 1991 • 55 min
Sister Paul is a born teacher who joined the convent at 18 and is happy in her vocation. At 24 she goes home to attend a family wedding and meets up with radical priest, Jack Delahunty, who changes her life.
6. Catherine
Aired 9 October 1991 • 55 min
While Mother Ambrose is in Rome, Agnes is in charge. She asks Catherine to teach the official line against contraception and Catherine begins to find the compromises she is forced to make as a nun almost overwhelming.