Influencer nun: Parents most opposed to a religious vocation are not the most atheistic ones

Sister Marta has just received a YouTube plaque at Holy Cross Benedictine convent, founded in 1546 in Sahagún, Spain, certifying her first 100,000 followers. Actually, she has already surpassed that number, and YouTube is not even the platform where she has the most followers. On Instagram, she has over 173,000, and on TikTok, over 193,000.

Marta González Cambronero, or Sister Marta as she is known on her social media channels, is 28 years old and made her perpetual vows two years ago. Like the main character in “Sundays,” considered the film of the year in Spain, her vocational calling began in her adolescence before she finished school.

After two years of discernment, upon turning 18, she chose the feast of the Queenship of Mary, Aug. 22, 2014, for her entry as a novice. Less than a month later, she launched her YouTube channel with an invitation: “Take a look to discover the root of my happiness and what fills my daily life in a clear, simple, and dynamic way.”

The nun explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that she has always hoped to attract vocations through her apostolic adventure, though she has had fears about how it would be received and also about “how to reconcile it with Benedictine life, which, after all, is my primary vocation.”

She said her abbess once told her: “Let’s see if you get any vocations,” to which Sister Marta replied: “I’m not going to go ‘fishing’ for vocations, because that looks very bad, it seems very old-fashioned.”

However, the reality is that this effort is producing concrete results: At least one person has entered the convent and several other young women are discerning their vocation since the launch of her YouTube channel.

These young women are experiencing firsthand what the protagonist goes through in the film “Sundays,” which Sister Marta said she plans to see in the coming weeks.

“I’ve heard a lot about it, and, honestly, almost all of it has been positive,” she said. “I hope to be pleasantly surprised, to feel a connection with the story, and to see the experiences of so many young women it represents.”

The 2025 Spanish film addresses the family crisis and personal questioning that arises when Ainara, a 17-year-old girl, decides to abandon her plans for the future to become a cloistered nun. The plot explores religious vocation, individual freedom, faith, and the family’s inability to understand her decision.

At the same time, regarding the spiritual awakening that is taking place in the Spanish cultural world, Sister Marta confirmed that “for some years now, we have indeed seen young people searching for the truth, searching for something more, also searching for their place in the world. And God also enters into that equation of finding one’s place in the world.”

Vocational recommendations for young people and parents

Sister Marta told ACI Prensa that one of the topics she most enjoys talking about is vocations, because it is “an important aspect of our lives and of this apostolate.”

For those who are in a quandary about a religious vocation, Sister Marta recommended “first and foremost, prayer, of course. Ask the Lord what he wants from each of you.”

Afterward, she suggested, do not get overwhelmed, because “people get very frustrated when they sense they may have a vocation but don’t find the answer relatively quickly.”

It is also important to be patient and, “when you feel this possible calling, to take care of yourself spiritually and sacramentally.”

Her last suggestion is that until a person has “a fairly clear idea” that they have a vocation to religious life, they should not share it with their parents, who tend to ask “many” questions that, prematurely, “create too much noise.”

In fact, Sister Marta explained that “the parents who ‘attack’” the idea of a vocation the most “aren’t the most atheistic ones. Because sometimes the most atheistic or agnostic person says, ‘Well, if it makes you happy…’ They are more open-minded,” though she acknowledged there are many different cases.

“Surprisingly, the parents who oppose, so to speak, their children’s vocation, go to Mass every Sunday,” noted Sister Marta, who believes this attitude is probably caused by fear or lack of understanding.

In any case, she encouraged the parents of those considering a religious vocation to have “a lot of patience” and “to let the person grow,” because their child “is still a young adult who is trying to decide what they want to do with their life.”

The ‘danger’ of postponing a vocation for the sake of studies

She also recommended against pressuring young women who feel they have a vocation during high school to pursue a university degree before making a decision. “It can complicate things and even be dangerous” to the realization of a vocation, she said.

The danger lies in the possibility of “neglecting one’s vocation,” and that leads to frustration and regret in some cases, she said: “We have received emails, especially from women, already 50 years old or older, who say: ‘I considered it when I was young, but I got married, I have children, a husband.’ And now it’s no longer the right time.”

Digital apostolate is part of the Benedictine call to ‘pray and work’

Sister Marta plans the content she posts every three months, aided by a large annual survey of her followers, but her posts are based on four clear pillars: everyday life, prayer, vocation, and the Sunday Gospel reading.

She said one of the biggest draws to her YouTube channel is people’s interest in the details of her daily life, such as whether the nuns’ habits are marked in any way to avoid mixing them up in the laundry. “Because I experience it every day, I don’t realize that this particular detail is completely unknown and incredibly interesting,” she acknowledged.

To carry out her digital apostolate, Sister Marta is now allowed to dedicate one day a week to it, because, she emphasized, “it is still a type of work” that benefits the community and aligns with the Benedictine rule to “pray and work” (“Ora et labora”).

The dangers of digital stardom

It is not unheard of for a religious figure with a strong social media presence to announce his or her departure from religious life. Sister Marta is aware of this danger: “Indeed, I feel compelled to say, ‘I’m no better than them.’”

At the same time, she urges against making hasty judgments about the reasons that lead these individuals to change their lives: “From the outside, very little is known, and often it’s a case where the community itself hasn’t supported their work on social media, and the person has felt alone,” or perhaps “it had nothing to do with social media” and it’s “a crisis in another area.”

She is clear that “the moment I have a difficulty, it is communicated to the mother abbess, we talk about it, we seek support,” and it is addressed like any other issue.

Despite her popularity, Sister Marta has had very few difficulties with her social media followers. The few negative comments she has received have been “very impersonal,” and she generally does not respond to those.

However, if she perceives “that the person is reflecting and is perhaps expressing suffering or something that doesn’t sit well with them, sometimes it’s possible to respond in a kind way.”

And from these exchanges or other posts, “many messages are received from people who have returned to the faith or who have begun to understand certain things,” which is one of the greatest satisfactions she has received through her digital apostolate.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.