Thirteen nuns at a Livonia convent died of coronavirus in the last three months, including one sister who had appeared to recover from the disease
but later relapsed.
“Some of our Sisters who have had COVID-19 are struggling to recover from a variety of effects, including continuing weakness, respiratory issues and more,” Sister Mary Moore said. “We ask for your prayers as we support them in their recovery.”
The Global Sisters Report, a project of National Catholic Reporter, wrote a touching tribute about the loss, publishing a photo of a small memorial dedicated to the late nuns
in the gardens outside the Felician Sisters’ convent.
In the photograph, a modest metal plaque on a larger stone memorializes the women and their work, with the inscription: “Eternal Rest give to them, O Lord … Let Your light shine upon them.”
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In early May, the Free Press reported that seven Catholic sisters at the Livonia convent who died had tested positive for the coronavirus. The Felicians helped found a hospital, St. Mary Mercy Livonia, and other care facilities in the city.
The Global Sisters Reports said the nuns who died included “a librarian. A director of religious education. A secretary in the Vatican Secretariat of State. The author of a 586-page history of the congregation.”
“One was an organist. One helped her second-grade class write and perform a commercial for Campbell’s Soup. One was a nurse and led nursing students’ mission trips to Haiti.”
Twelve sisters died between Good Friday and May 10, and the 13th on June 27.
Nineteen other sisters have died of
coronavirus elsewhere in the United States, the report said, including a sister in Lodi, New Jersey; six sisters from a convent outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and three Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, New York.
Statewide, as of Tuesday, there were 74,725 confirmed coronavirus cases and 6,135 deaths. Included in those numbers were 8,334 probable cases and 247 probable deaths.
