Convent on the outskirts of Detroit loses 13 religious Sisters by Covid-19, 12 in a month

They were all members of the Felicia Sisters convent in Livonia, outside Detroit, aged between 69 and 99, the executive director for the advancement of the mission, Suzanne English, confirmed to CNN on Tuesday. A sister number 13 initially survived the virus but died in June.

The sisters were long-time members of the convent and leave a legacy of service, according to their English-provided obituaries. They all served others through different roles, from teaching to helping at-risk children, playing music, and publishing a 586-page book on the history of the convent.

One sister won a commercial script writing contest for Campbell’s Soup with her second grade class. Another was assigned to Generalate Feliciano in Rome twice and worked as a secretary in the English section of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.

“We regret every one of our sisters who has died during the time of the pandemic across the province, and we greatly appreciate all those who hold us in prayer and support us in various ways,” said Sister Mary Christopher Moore, Provincial Minister. of the Province of Our Lady of Hope.

All of the women lived and worked on the 360-acre campus that was once home to 800 sisters, according to the Global Sisters Report, an independent, non-profit Catholic news editor. Now only around 50 reside there, according to the English.

English said the Livonian convent is one of 60 convents in the United States and Canada, as well as a mission in Haiti, where the 469 Felician sisters of North America reside.

The Global Sisters Report says that the deaths of the 13 sisters in Livonia may be the worst loss of life for a community of religious women in the United States since the 1918 flu pandemic.

At the start of the pandemic in March, the convent, like other long-term housing residences, implemented a non-visitor rule and placed restrictions on group activities to help curb the spread of the virus, according to the Global Sisters Report.

‘Somehow it destroyed our life of faith a little’

But the virus spread through the convent and on Good Friday, April 10, the first death occurred: Sister Mary Luiza Wawrzyniak, 99.

Her death was followed by Sister Celine Marie Lesinski, 92, and Sister Mary Estelle Printz, 95, both who died on Easter Sunday, April 12.

By May 10, a total of 12 sisters died, according to English. They include; Sister Thomas Marie Wadowski, 73, Sister Mary Patricia Pyszynski, 93, Sister Mary Clarence (Adeline) Borkoski, 83, Sister Rose Mary Wolak, 86, Sister Mary Janice (Margaret) Zolkowski, 86, Sister Mary Alice Ann (Fernanda) Gradowski, 73, Sister Victoria Marie Indyk, 69, Sister Mary Martinez (Virginia) Rozek, 87, and Sister Mary Madeleine (Frances) Dolan, 82.

The convent dealt with how they were able to care for each other and only 10 people were able to attend each funeral, according to the Global Sisters Report.

“The faith we share with the sisters as they die, the prayers we share with the sisters as they die: We missed all of that. It somehow shattered our faith life a little bit.” Sister Joyce Marie Van de Vyver told the publication.

In late June, the convent lost Sister Mary Danatha (Lottie) Suchyta, 98, to Covid. In all, at least 30 sisters in Livonia were infected with the virus and 17 recovered, English said, quoting Sister Noel Marie Gabriel, director of clinical health services for the Province of Our Lady of Hope.

“Some of our sisters who have had COVID-19 are struggling to recover from a variety of effects, including continued weakness, respiratory problems, and more,” read a statement released by Felician Sisters in early July.

In the United States, nearly 142,000 have died from the coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins University case count on Tuesday. More than 3.89 million people have been infected with the virus in the United States.

The Livonian convent is not the only religious order that has seen the devastating effects of the virus. Sister Mary Ramona (Florence) Borkowski, 93, died of Covid on April 18 at a convent located in Lodi, New Jersey. In 1971, Borkowski founded and became the principal of the Felician School for Exceptional Children in Lodi, a position she held until 2018, according to her obituary.

Between April and May, six sisters from different religious orders who lived in the convent of Our Lady of the Angels in Greenfield, Wisconsin, died from Covid-19.

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