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A Catholic convent in Michigan says it lost 13 nuns to coronavirus (COVID-19) in just two months – 12 of them between Good Friday, 10 April and 10 May.
The 13th nun initially survived the virus but later died from complications in June.
Ranging in age from 69 to 99, women were members of the Felician Sisters convent in Livonia, Michigan.
An additional 17 nuns also contracted the virus, but recovered, although several are reportedly still “struggling to recover from a variety of effects.”
Convent superior Sr Mary Andrew Budinski spoke of the trauma the nuns’ death has caused, saying: “I get chills thinking about that. The raw grief is yet to come, I think.”
To try and minimize the risk of further infections, none of the surviving nuns were able to go to their sisters’ funerals. They are still not allowed to enter one another’s rooms, or dine more than two at a table.
Their deaths took out more than a fifth of the resident population in the Catholic convent.
All worked at different jobs at the 360-acre campus: some were teachers, one was a librarian and a secretary in the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Speaking on the convent’s behalf, Sister Mary Christopher Moore said the convent had been following safety procedures. However, its confined conditions and the age of many of its residents left them vulnerable.
Then, once the first person at the convent contracted the virus, it quickly spread.
The mass-death is believed to be the single worst loss of life at a convent in the United States since the 1918 influenza pandemic.
Mary Christopher said: “Hand washing, mask wearing, social distancing and regular disinfecting will remain staples of our routines…”
“We grieve for each of our sisters who has passed during the time of the pandemic throughout the province, and we greatly appreciate all of those who are holding us in prayer and supporting us in a number of ways.”
Source
- Metro
- People
- Image: Bridge Michigan
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