Sor LucÃÂa Caram Padilla (born 21 October 1966) is a Dominican Order nun, chef, writer, and presenter. She is Argentine, and currently resides in Spain.
LucÃÂa Caram was born in Tucumán, the fifth of seven siblings, to a family of Lebanese descent. She was educated at a religious school.
During the dictatorship in Argentina from 1976 to 1983, Tucumán was punished by military repression, and she says that "it was then when [she] encountered people's suffering and the question of why there is violence. That was the first seed of [her] vocation."
LucÃÂa Caram has lived in Spain for 27 years and resides in the Convent of Santa Clara de Manresa in Barcelona, where she promotes interreligious dialogue. She is the promoter of the Fundación Rosa Oriol, which serves 1,400 disadvantaged families.
She sparked outrage and received death threats after suggesting that Mary, mother of Jesus may not have been a virgin.
In March 2022, Caram, O.P. drove 3,725 miles in a minibus over 4 days from her Convent of Santa Clara de Manresa in Barcelona, to RomaniaâÂÂs northern border with Ukraine to give assistance to refugees arriving from the country under attack. She helped 6 refugees (3 women and 3 adolescents) and 3 Ukrainian families. âÂÂI spent some restless nights wondering how I might helpâ lamented the nun who is caring for a mother and child from Ukraine with the help of 17 lay volunteer couples.
In March 2023, Carams brought humanitarian aid and returned home with refugees or wounded soldiers. âÂÂNow after 18 trips, I see that Ukraine has lost one or two generations. You go to the cemetery, and you see the graves multiply every time. I am struck by this,â she said. In her 24 May 2023 visit to Pope Francis she discussed about her project to provide field hospitals to Ukraine.
On 13 March 2024, Caram and Religión Digital met Pope Francis at the Paul VI Hall, (la auletta) who advised:âÂÂDo not lose hope. Continue fighting for this living Church and making it known.âÂÂ
On 28 August 2025, Caram met with Pope Leo XIV in a private audience. Details of the meeting are unknown, and the audience only came to light because photographs were released showing that it happened.
She collaborates on the program Las mañanas de Cuatro. She also has a recipe show on the , Sor LucÃÂa. This program is also broadcast for Latin America by .
In 2006, she received the ÃÂlex Seglers Memorial Prize in recognition of her activity in ecumenism, such as the creation of the Interreligious Dialogue Group in Manresa and her participation in the Second Catalan Parliament's Committee on Religions in 2006.
In 2015, she was given the Catalan of the Year Award, a prize that is granted by a vote from the readers of El Periódico de Cataluña and the viewers of the TV3 program '.