Sister Lucia Caram, 51, popular in Spain for her TV cookery programmes and her outspoken political views, has upset the Catholic Church by claiming that Mary was no virgin.

The nun, who has 180,000 followers on Twitter, received a sharp rebuke after she said on a chat show at the weekend that she didn’t really believe in one of the tenets of the Roman Catholic faith – that Mary, mother of Jesus, was a virgin.

I think that Mary was in love with Joseph and that they were a normal couple, and the normal thing is to have sex.

Caram, who was born in Argentina before moving to a Catalan convent 26 years ago, told Risto Mejideon on Cuatro TV:

It’s hard to believe and to take in. We’ve stuck with rules that we have invented without reaching the true message.

Her comments brought a swift rebuttal from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vic which issued a statement insisting that “in light of recent statements by a nun” it sought to remind those that the Catholic faith was clear on the subject of Mary’s virginity.

The belief that Mary was a perpetual virgin forms part of the faith of Church from its beginnings and that this truth of faith was collected and proclaimed by the Second Council of Constantinople, being the primary Marian dogma observed by Catholic and Orthodox Christians.

Sister Lucia, who lives in a convent in Manresa, also discussed her views on sex on the programme.

Sex is a way of expressing feelings and love and forms a part of all people. The Church has treated the subject as dirty and secret but I think it is a blessing.

When asked if she herself had sexual needs and what she did about them, she replied:

Just as I told you that I have never had sex and am a virgin, I can tell you that I do not masturbate either.