Face to face with the Virgin Mary — Sister Wendy’s iconic search... Alan Franks for The London Sunday Times
" Just eight early icons of Mary remain. Sister Wendy went on a quest to find them for her new book " If you think you have trouble searching for God, you should try finding Sister Wendy Beckett. She lives in what she calls a caravan in the grounds of a Carmelite convent deep in the countryside of East Anglia. It is technically a mobile home, but the distinctions hardly matter since neither it nor she are going anywhere. Still Britain’s most recognisable nun from her stint as a TV art historian, she has lived here for almost 40 years, rising at 1am, spending at least seven hours a day in prayer and getting to bed by 6pm. I have been told that she finds one-to-ones a little intense; it would help if I could take some lunch with me, and don’t forget the wine; dry white preferably. Because it’s a closed order, you can’t just walk into the grounds. Visitors need permission well in advance. You then wait in the porch while a sister answers the bell and comes to escort you to the...