How a Podcast by Catholic Sisters Became an Unexpected TikTok Sensation
If your For You Page recently served you a clip of a cheerful nun saying “Sister, and you are so good at that” — congratulations, you’ve been blessed by one of TikTok’s most unexpectedly wholesome moments. But here’s the real twist: the women behind those viral clips don’t even know they’re famous online. At least, not in real time.
The Clip That Started It All: ‘Sister, and You Are So Good at That’
The moment that launched a thousand stitches features Sister Miriam Holzman, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. In the clip, she’s complimenting another sister during a discussion about ultimate Frisbee — yes, ultimate Frisbee — and delivers the now-iconic line with such genuine warmth that the internet simply could not look away. The moment gained traction online well beyond its original context, racking up millions of views and pulling in both Catholic and non-Catholic audiences alike.
The clip comes from “Dominican Sisters Open Mic,” a podcast recorded in a studio in Michigan that launched in January. Sister Miriam hosts, interviewing other sisters about their lives, including education and personal conversion journeys. Sister John Dominic Rasmussen is also involved in the recordings.
They’re Sisters, Not Nuns (Technically)
One quick note the sisters themselves would want you to know: the order refers to its members as sisters rather than nuns, as nuns are typically cloistered. So while the internet has lovingly dubbed them “the viral nuns,” the more accurate label is sisters. Either way, the affection is real.
Here’s where things get genuinely charming. The sisters do not maintain individual social media accounts. They rely on their production team to manage content distribution and inform them of online engagement. That means the people dominating your feed aren’t even scrolling it.
“Something that’s really beautiful about our life is we don’t have a lot of screen time,” Sister Miriam told the New York Times. “We don’t have personal phones unless we might need it for a work-related reason.”
She also described the division of responsibilities between the sisters and their media team: “They want us to pray and to do the work and to prepare the content,” Sister Miriam said. “And then they say, ‘OK, go home, sisters, and do what you do best, which is praying and living your life, and we’ll do this for you.’”
That arrangement — record the podcast, go back to your life of prayer, let someone else handle the algorithm — might be the most enviable content strategy on the internet right now.
The Team Behind the ‘Dominican Sisters Open Mic’ Podcast
The podcast is produced by Openlight Media, a production company connected to the sisters’ outreach efforts. The company also produces other content, including YouTube series such as “Manners Monday,” religious educational videos and a prayer app called Torch, which is described as an alternative to social media distractions.
Marketing director Paul Dailey told the New York Times: “I think that the novelty of two sisters doing a podcast is enough to hold people’s attention for a second, which is what you need for TikTok.”
He’s not wrong. The format works precisely because it’s so unexpected — two religious sisters chatting casually about Frisbee skills and daily life, radiating the kind of authentic warmth that no influencer playbook can replicate.
This Isn’t Their First Brush With Fame
The sisters’ media presence is part of a broader effort to share their message publicly. Sister John Dominic said the group has previously participated in mainstream media appearances, including an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2010 discussing convent life. So while TikTok might be the newest stage, the Dominican Sisters of Mary have been comfortable in front of cameras for over a decade.
The difference now? They don’t have to be. Their production team handles the posting, the comments and the analytics. The sisters just show up, be themselves and let the internet do what the internet does best — fall in love with something genuinely good.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
