Meet the nuns taking on Mariah Carey with their Christmas song

By James Gamble

Meet the group of chart-topping nuns aiming to beat Wham! and Mariah Carey to this year's Christmas No. 1 spot.

The Poor Clares of Arundel have already topped classical music charts by swapping their abbey in West Sussex for Abbey Road studios.

But their new charity Christmas version of Silent Night - mixed at the studios, where the Beatles recorded their albums - is now aiming to climb the Christmas charts.

The five singing sisters - aged between 50 and 96 - achieved remarkable success with their first album, Light for the World, which was recorded during the pandemic and shot to number five in the official UK album charts in 2020.

Their second album, My Peace I Give You, was released in the summer and topped the Classical Chart.

Profits from the album, described as 'a message of peace for a fractured world and the importance of caring for the planet', went to environmental charities.

The sisters now hope their calming version of Silent Night, profits from which will go to a variety of charities, will give the usual suspects a run for their money in this year's Christmas charts.

As well as the Silent Night single, the Poor Clares also released the angelic Hodie Christus - an ancient Gregorian chant known to be in existence thousands of years ago.

However, Sister Gabriel Davison insisted that chart success and fame are not the things that drive her and her fellow nuns.

"The purpose for us is to make a connection with people," she explained.

"We recorded the songs a couple of months ago.

"We record in our chapel but our last album was mixed at Abbey Road.

"We are not doing it to top the charts. We are doing it because people love our music.

"People say it helps them find a place of peace and calm.

"When we made our first album, we were asked how we would feel if we got to Number 1 - then it actually happened.

"But that's not the purpose for us."