Readers, fasten your seatbelts because the plot of today’s tale is going to make you cry. Just for a moment, try to picture a sanctuary that is intended to be a haven of peace and consolation being the epicenter of a devastating disaster. This is precisely what took place at a Roman Catholic monastery in the state of Michigan, when thirteen devoted nuns were ruthlessly murdered by COVID-19. You did not make a mistake here; the number thirteen! Unpacking this terrible narrative, which serves as a sharp reminder of the virus’s devastating potency, is something that we should absolutely do.T.
At the Felician Sisters convent in Livonia, Michigan, these courageous individuals, ranging in age from sixty-nine to ninety-nine, lived the life of freedom. These outstanding women, who included a secretary for the Vatican Secretariat of State and a variety of other professions like as teaching and writing, were rather remarkable. Their death is even more tragic since their contributions were felt all throughout the globe, which makes their passing much more tragic.
According to the Global Sisters Report, this is “the worst loss of life to a community of religious women since the influenza pandemic that occurred in 1918.” More than a hundred years has passed! Imagine a striking historical comparison that sends shivers down one’s spine with its shocking similarities. At what point did things start to go wrong? These nuns were particularly vulnerable because of their advanced age and the close-knit living circumstances they were subjected to. Living at the convent was a daily interplay of living, worshiping, and working together, which unfortunately produced the ideal setting for the virus to wreak havoc via its destructive effects.
Are they the crooks who are unaware? There were two assistants who were completely unaware that they were infected with the virus themselves. The sad entry of these individuals into the monastery, which was carried out with the best of intentions, was eerily similar to epidemics that have been seen in nursing homes and other senior care institutions. After being brought inside, the virus spread like wildfire over a forest that was suffering from dryness. During the course of a month, the sickness claimed the life of one sister roughly every other day it occurred. There was a loss of thirteen nuns. Eighteen other people were sick but, happily, they made it through.
As if this narrative weren’t already painful enough, the sisters who were still alive were unable to attend the funerals of their loved ones for various reasons. Because of the potential for transmission and the need to strictly comply to health regulations, they were not allowed to participate in the rituals that would have provided them with closure. Take into consideration the anguish of being unable to properly say goodbye to people you have known for your whole life. Absolute and utterly shocking.
Over the course of a particularly tragic time that lasted from April 10 to May 10, twelve nuns passed away. Another sister passed away from the sickness on June 27, just as the wounds were starting to heal, which contributed to the extension of the time of grieving that the group was experiencing.
It was impossible for Noel Marie Gabriel, who was the director of clinical health services for the Felician Sisters of North America, to contain her feelings of sorrow. “We were unable to cope with the loss, the anguish, and the emotional damage,” she made the observation. It seemed like a completely different way of life during that month; it was a month filled with sorrow, misery, grieving, and loss. It is impossible to adequately convey the emotional rollercoaster that this community went through via the use of words.
