Cosi

"Most people feel that because we are nuns we have lost our appreciation for feminine matters," says Sister Lorenzina of Rome's Catholic Pious Society of the Daughters of St. Paul. "Quite the contrary. A woman remains a woman even after she takes the veil. If she lost her feminine soul, she would become a cold, sterile human being."

Sister Lorenzina has practical proof for her point: listed on the masthead by her given name of Olga Guidetti, she is the editor of a not-quite-slick-paper magazine named Cosi (Thus), which is published and staffed by the Daughters of St. Paul and is a successful weekly entry in the fiercely competitive Italian field of popular magazines for women.

Skirting the Stars. Cosi, along with its rivals, has no real counterpart in U.S. journalism; it combines the fashion-consciousness of an especially demure Vogue with the love stories of a particularly sedate Redbook, the gossip columns of the less sensational U.S. movie magazines with the diet and beauty advice of a Ladies' Home Journal. Among its features is a weekly horoscope; Cosi skirts church objections with a cautionary footnote reminding readers that human will is independent of the stars.

Established in 1955 by Don Giacomo Alberione, now 75, founder of the Society of St. Paul, a progressive order that uses such modern means as movies, radio and TV to spread the word of Christ, Cosi competes on nonsecular terms. By its low price--Cosi sells for 50 lire (8-c-), about half the going rate--and by a vigorous door-to-door selling campaign, the Daughters of St. Paul say they have pushed the magazine's circulation to 300,000, respectably close to the two leaders in the crowded Italian women's field, Grazia and Annabella, each with about 400,000 circulation.

One recent week two of Cosi's blackhabited staffers sat among the smartly dressed buyers at a high-fashion show in Rome. As the models in chic suits, lowcut evening gowns and bathing suits walked by, the sisters, looking a bit like ravens at a parade of cockatoos, exchanged expert opinions, took precise notes. After the showing, they stepped into Cosi's staff car, a blue Fiat, and drove away to their walled convent on Rome's southern side. There they produced a sprightly and authoritative review of the latest modes.

Editing with Care. When the sisters are given bylines for their articles, their given names are always used. There is a good reason for such policy: Cosi's ten sister-staffers want their magazine to stand as more than a conventual oddity. Says Sister Lorenzina: "We take great care in editing so that readers should not see that Cosi is obviously done by nuns. By publishing a gay and amusing magazine-- always within the concepts of Christian morality and modesty--we try to attract readers who would otherwise buy lay publications which are often scandalous and harmful to morals."

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