Global religion reporter Giovanna Dell'Orto and Athens, Greece, photographer Petros Giannakouris gained unprecedented access to a convent housing 13 cloistered Catholic nuns on the trendy Greek island of Santorini, a favorite of tourists. The nuns devote their lives to praying for those visitors and for the world — their near-constant prayer deemed necessary to support more publicly engaged ministries.
The AP pair won the trust of the nuns, who opened the doors to areas of the convent off-limits to visitors while sharing what calls them to this sequestered life of devotion to God. The result is a distinctive and revealing package of Dell’Orto’s illuminating text and Giannakouris’ equally compelling photography.
Sister María de la Trinidad and other nuns speak to journalists from behind the white iron grille that separates the cloistered space from the outside world, in the parlor of the Monastery of St. Catherine on the Greek island of Santorini, June 14, 2022. The convent is home to more than a dozen nuns who devote themselves to prayer and leave only for medical or administrative necessities.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
A priest celebrates Mass with cloistered nuns in the Catholic Monastery of St. Catherine on the Greek island of Santorini, June 14, 2022. The nuns’ vocation is to pray tirelessly for the church and the world.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
A woman poses for a photograph outside the wrought-iron enclosure of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Catholic Church on the Greek island of Santorini, June 15, 2022.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
Tourists take selfies and enjoy the sunset in Oia, on the Greek island of Santorini, June 13, 2022. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the island each year.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
Ruins of a settlement, including a former Catholic monastery, lie on the rocky promontory of Skaros on the Greek island of Santorini, June 15, 2022. The Monastery of St. Catherine was founded at Skaros in 1596, but after an earthquake it was moved to the nearby village of Thira, where to this day it remains home to more than a dozen nuns who devote themselves to prayer.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
Sister María Jesús and other nuns pray during Mass at the Catholic Monastery of St. Catherine on the Greek island of Santorini, June 14, 2022. The nuns pray at least nine hours a day, most of it sung in Latin, Spanish and Greek.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
Cloistered nuns walk in the garden of the Catholic Monastery of St. Catherine on the Greek island of Santorini, June 15, 2022. When not praying ior practicing sacred music and hymns, the nuns tend to the garden, where they grow fruits and vegetables.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
A woman, center, poses in an alley between the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, right, and the Monastery of St. Catherine on the Greek island of Santorini, June 15, 2022. Inside the convent, 13 cloistered nuns devote their lives to prayer.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
Cinzia Sansone and her daughter Josephine, from Trieste, Italy, pose for photos on a rooftop overlooking the Catholic Monastery of St. Catherine on the Greek island of Santorini, June 14, 2022.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
Sister María de Jesús, right, bows her head as Sister María Flor de la Eucaristía, far left, and Sister Amparo de María pray during Mass in the Catholic Monastery of St. Catherine on the Greek island of Santorini, June 14, 2022.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
Nuns hug during the sign of peace at daily Mass in the Catholic Monastery of St. Catherine on the Greek island of Santorini, June 14, 2022.
AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
The rare access resulted first from Dell’Orto’s efforts over many months to convince those overseeing the convent that AP’s coverage would be responsible, and then from the two journalists’ warmth and respect when they met the nuns in person.
Dell’Orto discovered the convent while visiting Santorini in 2019; she subsequently studied its history, and reached out to Santorini’s lone Catholic priest and the Dominican order’s Spain-based leader to propose an AP story. Earlier this year, she contacted the convent’s prioress, who agreed to accommodate a visit. The priest and most of the nuns are native Spanish speakers; Dell’Orto’s fluency in Spanish helped build rapport.
The journalists’ warmth and respect won the nuns over when they met in person.
Heading into the visit, the AP journalists were told Giannakouris could take photos only at the daily Mass and in the convent’s parlor. Here is Dell’Orto’s account of what ensued:
Photographer Petros Giannakouris makes the package’s lead photo at the Catholic Monastery of St. Catherine, June 14, 2022.
AP / Giovanna Dell’Orto
“In the space of a couple of hours of talking in the parlor, the sisters were discussing among themselves how they could help Petros get more shots … one opened a window in the dome of the church so Petros could go up on the rooftop and take photos during Mass from there. ... Once we got on the rooftop, they agreed it was OK for Petros to take pictures of them during recess and in the garden — and when we asked if we could come back the next day at a later hour for better light, they not only agreed but had prepared more homemade lemonade.”
“Why do I think this ‘miracle’ happened? Just the way it does with every source — from the very first approach, they realized we respected them and cared to learn about and tell their story, not a ‘look at these weird people’ story."
Among the multitude of outlets using the story and highlighting the remarkable photos were the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, The Independent and Yahoo.com.
Perhaps most rewarding, after Dell'Orto sent her a link to the story, the prioress wrote back, “GRACIAS!!!! GRACIAS!!!! GRACIAS!!!!”