[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 143 (Tuesday, August 11, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE FELICIAN SISTERS LOST TO CORONAVIRUS

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                         HON. HALEY M. STEVENS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 11, 2020

  Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to memorialize the beautiful 
lives of thirteen nuns taken from our community by the scourge of 
coronavirus between April and June of this year.
  We honor the memory of Sister Mary Luiza Wawrzyniak, Sister Celine 
Marie Lesinski, Sister Mary Estelle Prints, Sister Thomas Marie 
Wadowski, Sister Mary Patricia Pyszynski, Sister Mary Clarence 
(Adeline) Borkoski, Sister Rose Mary Wolak, Sister Mary Janice 
(Margaret) Zolkowski, Sister Mary Alice Ann (Fernanda) Gradowski, 
Sister Victoria Marie Indyk, Sister Mary Martinez (Virginia) Rozek, 
Sister Mary Madeleine (Frances) Dolan, and Sister Mary Danatha (Lottie) 
Suchyta.
  These righteous women spent their days working and living together as 
members of the Felician Sisters at the Presentation of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary convent in Livonia, Michigan--some for more than a half 
century. At the time of their deaths, they ranged in age from 69 to 99, 
still wholly committed to serving the most vulnerable among us.
  Prior to the pandemic, the sisters could be found working in our 
local schools, libraries, and medical facilities, providing enrichment 
to our students and care to our sick. Many of them pursued degrees in 
higher education during their lifetimes, always seeking new ways to 
instill a sense of peace, justice, dignity, and truth in the world 
around them. My heart aches for the harm done to the soul of our 
community.
  This distinguished group has been responsible for the founding of 
multiple schools and care centers in Michigan's 11th District, 
including Madonna University, which has become one of the nation's 
largest Franciscan universities with a student body of approximately 
3,000 students. We, in Michigan's 11th District, are forever indebted 
to them for their mission and impact. We grieve for the virtuous lives 
lost, and we hold their extended community in our prayers.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in reflecting on the 
indelible mark left by these sisters on our community. May the grieving 
find comfort in the extraordinary legacies of faith and service they 
leave.

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