# How do you address a nun? (NAF) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2009, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508 "2009-03-15T08:33:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/61 "2009-03-20T02:16:47Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itfms556DgE) How old are you **Caveat**? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/62 "2009-03-20T07:10:53Z")
Very slowly, with great care, never in a hurry. First you start with the skirt… What?? Oh, how do you **address** a nun? Never mind. Carry on. I just keep reading “undress” every time. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/63 "2009-03-20T07:21:49Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Aren’t nuns, by definition, never married? Then why would “Ms.” be appropriate? I think of “Ms.” as an ambiguous title to use when the distinction between the unmarried “Miss” and the married “Mrs.” is to be not revealed, not desired, or not important. Nope. Setting aside the “Nuns of Christ” thing, a nun can be married (and have taken habits with her husband’s permission, of coruse this varies by order) or a widow. St Anne de Lestonac, founder of the order who owns my old school, was a widow. I know nuns who prefer Mother, nuns who prefer Sister, nuns who go by Sister/Mother Lastname, nuns who use Sister/Mother Firstname, nuns who go by Firstname… On first try I call them “Mother,” if they prefer something less highfalutin’ they’ll correct me but that way I never run afoul of one who prefers to be Mother’ed 🙂 It’s funny how many squeak “ohmyGod, how did you know?” Gee, Mother, that grey skirt and the grey pullover and that metal cross pin are sort of a big giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/64 "2009-03-20T13:59:32Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itfms556DgE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itfms556DgE) > > How old are you **Caveat**? 😉 1. Huh. I’ve never even heard that Beatles song before. ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/65 "2009-03-20T14:02:45Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Nope. Setting aside the “Nuns of Christ” thing, a nun can be married (and have taken habits with her husband’s permission, of coruse this varies by order) or a widow. St Anne de Lestonac, founder of the order who owns my old school, was a widow. Huh. I see from some quick research that married woman took vows in the early church, but which orders allow this today? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/66 "2009-03-20T14:03:29Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > A brilliant pun like that and _this_ is all the response I get? Maybe this place _is_ going down hill. ☹ \Bang, bang, shoot, shoot…\ Although I’ll admit I skimmed right past it on first reading. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/67 "2009-03-20T14:23:57Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > I would assume that a Mother Superior/Reverend Mother doesn’t go around wearing some identifying insignia displaying her rank, so shey may simply accept an address of “Sister” from someone who reasonably would know no better. Don’t some (most? all?) orders have different habits (uniforms) for the Mother Superior? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/68 "2009-03-20T16:43:13Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > Huh. I see from some quick research that married woman took vows in the early church, but which orders allow this today? Seconded. Marriage is a vocation and so is religious life, but it’s one or the other, or of course single life. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/69 "2009-03-20T18:27:55Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > St Anne de Lestonac, founder of the order who owns my old school, was a widow. Do you mean St. Jeanne de Lestonnac? Which school did you go to? My husband & his sisters went to one in SoCal. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/70 "2009-03-20T19:11:46Z")
The Third Order Mendicants (a Franciscan group) allow married men or women, but depending on how you define it, they may or may not count as an order. ---
**Author:** ![KnitWit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@KnitWit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KnitWit)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/71 "2009-03-20T19:58:19Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > You might find out from the initial greeting: > > “Good morning, I’m Quartz”. > > “Good morning Quartz. I’m Sister Margaret”. I was thinking that too. You can hope that you’re introduced. “This is Sister Mary Margaret.” Hurrah, problem solved. If I wasn’t introduced I think I would do what others have suggested and simply say, “Hello, how would you like to be addressed? Sister?” "Do acquaintances usually call you “Sister Josephina”? I’m sort of big on referring to people in the way that THEY wish to be referred to across the board. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/72 "2009-03-20T20:00:41Z")
It looks like I’m not getting the job anyway. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/73 "2009-03-21T00:29:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The Third Order Mendicants (a Franciscan group) allow married men or women, but depending on how you define it, they may or may not count as an order. Ah. Forgot about them. They are part of an order, but not what you think about when you consider nuns, brothers, or priests. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/74 "2009-03-21T02:56:15Z")
Come to think of it, the best way to describe the Third Order might be to call them a “monastic chaos”. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508/75 "2009-03-21T03:57:09Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > Do you mean St. Jeanne de Lestonnac? Which school did you go to? My husband & his sisters went to one in SoCal. Sorry, yes. The one in Tudela (Spain). It’s known locally as “the nuns,” because the other nuns’ school has been there for a mere 50 years or so… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-address-a-nun-naf/489508.md?page=3)