Nuns field calls for pope—but he’s not available
VATICAN CITY—How’s Pope Francis doing? Can you give him my get-well wishes? Can I speak with him directly?
The nuns who operate the Vatican’s switchboard are fielding a growing number of calls with these questions as the Pope enters his fifth week in hospital confinement.
“They feel like children waiting to know about their father,” said Sister Anthony, a Filipino nun who came to the Vatican a year ago and now runs the switchboard operation in a spartan office a few steps away from St. Peter’s Basilica.
“We tell them to pray for him,” she said.
But some callers ask the nuns to just put him on the line.
“People of simple faith don’t understand that the Pope cannot speak with everyone,” Sister Gabriella said.
‘Human voice’
The Vatican’s central number is public—and the sisters of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master make sure all who call it get a real person, not the “Press 1 for English, 2 for Latin” version of the automation that’s become the norm in institutions and businesses.
“It’s the Vatican’s voice—a voice, that despite the digitalization of communications, the Vatican wants to preserve as a human voice,” said Mother Micaela, the order’s mother superior.
The Pious Disciples sisters are part of the century-old Pauline orders which are focused on communications, including Catholic publishing around the world.
In 1970, they were called to operate the Vatican switchboard and instructed by the then mother superior to be “a voice that does good because through the phone wire it communicates Christ himself.”
‘Triggering calls’
Today, often with headsets over their veils, the sisters cover the phones for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, in front of large monitors that show the incoming call’s country of origin. The Vatican police Gendarmes takes the night shift.
About a dozen sisters from Italy, the Philippines, Poland and elsewhere take calls from around the world, predominantly in Italian, English and Spanish.
Many callers just need to be directed to the right Vatican office or official, and the sisters oblige with the aid of massive yearbooks and directories, as well as a solid knowledge of protocols and a hefty dose of discretion, Sister Anthony said.
Those who call asking for financial help are put through to the Vatican almoner’s office, which has provided aid recently to victims of war in Ukraine, floods in Brazil and homelessness in Naples, southern Italy.
Since 2025 is a Holy Year for the Catholic Church, with 32 million pilgrims projected to visit Rome, related calls make up a large part of the 50 to 70 daily queries.
Then there are callers with questions the sisters can’t just look up or patch through—those in distress or angry or hopeless.
“Some calls are very triggering,” said Sister Anthony. “Others are angry with the church, so we listen respectfully.”
“But if I can give consolation or hope, I think that’s okay,” she said.
“We never get a call that’s the same as the previous one,” said Sister Simona, who has worked as a telephone operator for 15 years.
Woman’s touch
Among the recent calls Sister Anthony said she received was from a Muslim woman who said she likes Francis and wanted to inquire about his health.
“That’s very impressive for me,” said the nun, who used to be a provincial superior in the Philippines.
The switchboard sisters say they’re particularly happy to provide a woman’s touch across the spectrum of callers.
They also say they find pride in both their unseen service and the increasing visibility of women at the Vatican where about 1,100 of them work.
Francis has recently named a few to top posts, even though the priesthood and deaconate—and thus the majority of the church hierarchy—remain exclusively male.
“For me, it’s a blessing to be in one community with the Pope and serving the universal church,” Sister Anthony said. “Knowing there are more responsibilities for women, we feel very empowered.”
“Pope Francis often reminds that the church is a mother,” Mother Micaela said. “And to be this voice, this sensibility, this feminine approach gives a sense of reliability.”
