Thirteen Roman Catholic nuns from the same Michigan convent died of the coronavirus in a deadly wave that claimed 12 in just one month.
The nuns, 69 to 99 years old, lived together on three floors in the convent of the Felicia Sisters in Livonia. They included teachers, an author and a secretary at the Vatican’s Secretary of State, according to the Global Sisters Report, a store of the National Catholic Reporter publishing company.
LOUISIANA GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES FAST AND 3-DAY PRAYER DUE TO BRONZE OF CORONAVIRUS
“I first heard that two assistants had contracted the virus,” Sister Mary Andrew Budinski, the convent’s superior, told the Global Sisters Report. “We don’t know who they are, and we don’t want to know. Then she hit the sisters on the second floor, and it went like a wildfire.”
A small monument to the 12 sisters who died in a month from COVID-19 is located in the gardens outside the Convent of the Felicianas Sisters in Livonia, Mich.
(Global Sisters Report / Dan Stockman)
Twelve of the nuns died in a month between Good Friday, April 10 and May 10. Nun 13 died on June 27; Another 17 recovered.
The group said Monday that coronavirus deaths, which wiped out 22 percent of residents, “may be the worst loss of life for a community of religious women since the 1918 flu pandemic.”
JONATHAN MORRIS ANNOUNCES THE YEAR OF COMMITMENT AFTER LEAVING THE PRIEST: “I AM SO GRATEFUL TO GOD”
The oldest, Sister Mary Luiza Wawrzyniak, 99, was the first. She died on April 10.
The Convent of the Felicia Sisters in Livonia, Michigan, where 12 sisters died of COVID-19 in one month.
(Global Sisters Report / Dan Stockman)
Four others followed that week: Sisters Celine Marie Lesinski, 92, and Mary Estelle Printz, 95, died on April 12; Sister Thomas Marie Wadowski, 73, on April 15; and Sister Mary Patricia Pyszynski, 93, on April 17.
The deaths continued in mid-April when Sister Mary Clarence Borkoski, 83, died on April 20; Sister Rose Mary Wolak, 86, died on April 21; and Sister Mary Janice Zolkowski, 86, passed away on April 22.
Sister Mary Alice Ann Gradowski, 73, died on April 25; Sister Victoria Marie Indyk, 69, died on April 26; and Sister Mary Martinez Rozek, 87, died on April 28.
Three of the 13 nuns in the photo: Sister Mary Luiza Warzyniak, 99, died on April 10; Sr. Celine Marie Lesinski, 92, died on April 12; and Sister Mary Danatha Suchyta, 98, died on June 17.
(Global Sisters Report / Dan Stockman)
Sister Mary Madeleine Dolan, 82, died on May 10, Sister Mary Danatha Suchyta, 98, died on June 27.
“They didn’t give us numbers,” Andrew recalled. “Every day they said, ‘Another sister.’ ‘Another sister.’ ‘Another sister.’ It was very scary.”
Andrew himself contracted the virus and thought he would die in a moment.
Local minister Sister Mary Andrew Budinski looks at the memorial to remember the 12 sisters who died in a month from COVID-19 found in the gardens outside the Convent of the Felicia Sisters in Livonia, Michigan.
(Global Sisters Report / Dan Stockman)
“I gave myself up to that. I said, ‘God, if you’re going to take me, I’m ready.’ Then I woke up the next morning and I was still alive. Then somehow I got better,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Global Sisters reported that at least 19 other nuns have died from COVID-related complications in the U.S.
Michigan has recorded a total of 83,184 confirmed cases and at least 6,385 deaths from the virus.
