A priest and nun who worked together for years, fall in love: "I didn't want to live without her, so I left the church"
Sometimes, we take a lot of things for granted. Maybe because things have always gone a certain way and we cannot remotely imagine that they could be otherwise. In some cases, however, if the usual way of things changes course and has a different and unexpected turn, then we could be left stunned and speechless.
In the ecclesiastical world, for example, we are used to hearing about specific choices that nuns, priests or friars make before starting their religious journey. One thing that they cannot ignore, usually, are the vows of chastity and the idea of not having partners and life companions in the "romantic" sense of the term (at least, within the Catholic religion). Yet, it may happen that things do not always go according to plan, and the story we are about to tell you is a prime example of this. In this story, a priest and a nun lived through an experience that goes way beyond religious customs.
Mercedes Tarragona and Daniel Genovesi are the subjects of this romantic story. The two met at a young age - when they were 22 and 26 years old, respectively. Young Mercedes had just moved to Santa Fe when she met local parish priest, Daniel. In an interview, Mercedes said: "I had entered the convent at the age of 17 and I had always had a very strict education that did not take into account feelings, but focused exclusively on rationality". But then Mercedes met the young parish priest and they immediately felt a strong bond.
At the beginning, it was just a matter of working together: the two only met in controlled situations and never saw each other beyond these working hours. Over time, however, the desire to see each other, to talk and to be together grew, and soon, they were looking for any excuse to be able to spend a few hours together.
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Daniel said: "We started working together and little by little a strong affection grew between us. Up to that moment I had been happy and I lacked for nothing. I was satisfied with what I had and I was happy to help others. Then Mercedes arrived and something changed. There was an emotional change in me that I could not control. It had never happened to me before - after all, I had entered a seminary directly after high school and I had never had a girlfriend." Mercedes too found herself in the same dilemma and she absolutely did not know how to handle the situation.
Let's try for a moment to put ourselves in their shoes. Two people who, at a very young age, decide to dedicate their lives to religion and do not imagine a love affair would blossom between them, suddenly find themselves in a emotional whirlwind that turns their worlds upside down. None of us would have known how to behave in these circumstances - just like them.
Everything changed when Mercedes, shaken by this whirlwind of emotions and with tremdous feelings of guilt inside of her, decided to put some distance between them. At this point, Daniel had to make a decision: "I couldn't live without her," he declared. So, after a long period of indecision, the two decided to leave the church and spend the rest of their lives together.
Despite some initial difficulties, Daniel and Mercedes have lived a happy life. They got married and had two daughters. They could not continue to break the vows that they had made, and they could not go on without being with each other romantically. But, as they both said, they have always been sure that it was God who brought them together and made it all happen.
