A goalkeeper who played in the women's Serie C for her hometown of Favara, Sicily, will take her final solemn vows as a Franciscan nun later this week.
Described by friends as once being a ''lively'' 19-year-old who played for Fabaria 200 and rode around Favara on her scooter, Rossella Cancilla hung up her football boots to train as a nun ten years ago after talking to some Franciscan friars.
She also gave up a university journalism course to spend five years in a Franciscan convent near Messina before completing her novitiate at a convent near Perugia.
Sister Daniela, as she is now known, will return to Favara on Saturday to take the final step in her training, when she will be confirmed in her vocation by the archbishop of Agrigento.
Former football team mates will be there to cheer her on, local media said.
