Miss Sister: Nuns On The Catwalk
Entrants will be allowed to choose whether or not to whip off their traditional veil for the photo shoot.
But organiser Reverend Rungi stressed there will be no bathing suits.
"We are not going to parade nuns in bathing suits. But being ugly is not a requirement for becoming a nun.
"External beauty is gift from God, and we mustn't hide it," he said.
The Miss Sister 2008 contest will start in September on a blog run by Rev Rungi and will give nuns from around the world a chance to showcase their work and their image.
But just as the similar competition Miss World now encourages contestants to have an impressive CV as well as good looks, the nuns will have to fill out a profile including information about their life and vocation to accompany their photograph.
Visitors to the Rev's site will have a month to "vote for the nun they consider a model".
"Nuns are a bit excluded, they are a bit marginalised in ecclesiastical life," Rev Rungi said. "This will be an occasion to make their contribution more visible."
The contest has already been criticised by the association of Catholic teachers.
"It's an initiative that belittles the role of nuns who have dedicated themselves to God," the group's president Alberto Giannino said.
An Italian priest says he is organising the world's first beauty pageant for nuns to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.
Antonio Rungi says The Miss Sister Italy online contest will start on his blog in September.
"Nuns are above all women and beauty is a gift from God," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.
He is asking nuns to send their photos to him, saying that internet users will then choose the winner.
Father Rungi stressed that nuns were not being invited to parade in bathing suits, saying it will be up to them whether they pose with the traditional veil or with their heads uncovered.
"This contest will be a way to show there isn't just the beauty we see on television but also a more discreet charm," the priest, who lives near the southern city of Naples, told the Corriere della Sera.
"You really think all nuns are old, stunted and sad? This isn't the case anymore," he said, pointing out that many young nuns had arrived to Italy from around the world.
He added that the idea of staging such a contest had been suggested by nuns themselves.
But organiser Reverend Rungi stressed there will be no bathing suits.
"We are not going to parade nuns in bathing suits. But being ugly is not a requirement for becoming a nun.
"External beauty is gift from God, and we mustn't hide it," he said.
The Miss Sister 2008 contest will start in September on a blog run by Rev Rungi and will give nuns from around the world a chance to showcase their work and their image.
But just as the similar competition Miss World now encourages contestants to have an impressive CV as well as good looks, the nuns will have to fill out a profile including information about their life and vocation to accompany their photograph.
Visitors to the Rev's site will have a month to "vote for the nun they consider a model".
"Nuns are a bit excluded, they are a bit marginalised in ecclesiastical life," Rev Rungi said. "This will be an occasion to make their contribution more visible."
The contest has already been criticised by the association of Catholic teachers.
"It's an initiative that belittles the role of nuns who have dedicated themselves to God," the group's president Alberto Giannino said.
An Italian priest says he is organising the world's first beauty pageant for nuns to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.
Antonio Rungi says The Miss Sister Italy online contest will start on his blog in September.
"Nuns are above all women and beauty is a gift from God," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.
He is asking nuns to send their photos to him, saying that internet users will then choose the winner.
Father Rungi stressed that nuns were not being invited to parade in bathing suits, saying it will be up to them whether they pose with the traditional veil or with their heads uncovered.
"This contest will be a way to show there isn't just the beauty we see on television but also a more discreet charm," the priest, who lives near the southern city of Naples, told the Corriere della Sera.
"You really think all nuns are old, stunted and sad? This isn't the case anymore," he said, pointing out that many young nuns had arrived to Italy from around the world.
He added that the idea of staging such a contest had been suggested by nuns themselves.