Sr. Benedetta Cuna-lingee| Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs & She/Her/Hers Postulant Sr. Benedetta Cuna-Lingee dreamt of being a Sister while attending graduate school. Obsessed with all things queer, they fell into the rabbit hole of Sistory researching holy foolery. She decided to write her dissertation on SPI, and hoped to one day don the habit and clown face in the name of helping her community.
When they started applying for jobs to get the hell out of the PNW, they were delighted to see Southern Illinois University (a college they had wanted to attend for graduate work) was hiring…AND the city that housed the campus had just welcomed a new Abby of Sisters. Feeling this was all the Divine timing of Sweet Sexy Jesus, she applied. After waiting a few months to get her Sister sh*t in order, she began attending events for the SOIL Sisters in December of 2023.
Sr. Benedetta, being the foxy etymology nerd that she is, chose her Sister name carefully. It is inspired by Sr. Benedetta Carlini, a nun living in Italy during the Italian Renaissance. Although she received the stigmata and had visions of marrying Christ, Sr. Carlini was excommunicated for fornicating with another Sister in her Abby (Sr. Bartolomea). When confronted about the incident, Sr. Carlini swears that the acts weren’t sinful because the archangel Splenditello possessed her body in order to ravish Sr. Bartolomea. She even used “the voice which Splenditello always spoke through” during their romps (Judith Brown, Immodest Acts). Believing it is important to honor queer icons of the past, Sr. Benedetta Cuna-Lingee wanted to name herself after the first (documented) “Lesbian Nun” in solidarity, showing that such dirty hoes should be celebrated - not excommunicated.
Their mission focuses on educating the masses about queer spirituality and the good that satire and holy madness can bring. To anyone who has been hurt by the Church, there is hope to reconnect to the Divine, if you choose - and shoot a middle finger up to anyone who says otherwise.