- The
nuns of San Leandro in Seville,Spain , typically make sweets for customers. - Now, they're sewing
masks for local hospitals, police stations, and soup kitchens across the city. The 18 nuns have made about 5,000 masks. - In their free time, the nuns head out to their courtyard to play a game of
basketball . - Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
In Seville, Spain, the nuns of San Leandro have traded their kitchen utensils for sewing machines and their eggs for threads.
The Convento de San Leandro is typically known for selling Yemas de San Leandro, which are sweets made from sugar, lemon, and egg yolks. The nuns often spend their days making these treats for tourists and locals.
But the lockdown has put those operations on pause.
With nearly 185,000 confirmed cases at the time of writing, Spain faces the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world.
Those numbers, paired with a shortage of face masks, prompted the nuns to pivot from baking to sewing.
The nuns are sewing masks for soup kitchens, healthcare workers, police officers, and anyone else in need of a mask in the city. They make an estimated 500 masks a day and have donated about 5,000 to date, according to local news site eldiario.es.
During breaks, the 18 women find time for a quick game of basketball
Twitter user Alejandro Ávila shared a video on Monday of the nuns playing basketball.
—Alejandro Ávila (@AleAvilaV) April 13, 2020
On a tiled courtyard, dressed in habits, the nuns shoot hoops. Teams are formed, though it's hard to know who is on which team, and the basketball is thrown across the makeshift court.
—Jack Lydon (@JackLydon63) April 16, 2020
They laugh, they cheer, and they take a break from their hard work behind the sewing machines.
Across the country, other groups have started sewing masks in an effort to curb the spread of the virus
In Malaga, Spain, a nonprofit, Malaga Helps Hospitals, launched efforts to sew masks and gowns for local medical staff. And in Yecla, a town known for furniture production, making masks has become a priority.
The nuns plan to bake again once this is all over, and the sweets support the operating costs of the convent.
Convento de San Leandro isn't the only convent that's turned to baking. Spain is sprinkled with nuns baking for tourists and locals.
Typically, the transactions are made quickly and quietly. There will often be a "menu" where visitors can see the prices of the sweets. Once they've made their decision, they drop the money in a rotating tray. The tray spins and the money is replaced by the sweets.
Then, they enjoy the sweet delicacies.
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