As the 12-month-long celebration of the 150-year-long Felician Sisters legacy in North America is coming to an end, the West Side Detroit Polish American Historical Society (WSDPAHS) welcomed Sisters from the Livonia Convent at the WSDPAHS’s 17th Annual All Saints/All Souls Prayer Service & “Wypominki” (naming the names of deceased) on Saturday, November 1.
A large group of Felician Sisters, among them young nuns from Vietnam, came to the event which this year was held at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield. The Vietnamese sisters are sponsored by the Felician Sisters of North America and are studying nursing, accounting and other subjects at Madonna University (founded by the Felician Sisters as Madonna College in 1937).
During the prayer service, as in previous years, everybody in attendance mentioned the names of the departed people who they wanted to be remembered and prayed for. This time not only family and friends were mentioned but also those killed in Gaza, in the Russian-Ukrainian War, homeless people, and Felician Sisters. All of the deceased members of the WSDPAHS were named too, which has been a tradition with WSDPAHS.
While remembering the departed Felician nuns, Sister Joyce Marie Van de Vyver, CSSF said: “From Sister Mary Anna in 1941 and Mother Mary DeSales in 1948 all the way up to Sister Mary Honoria and Sister Mary Alfonsa in 2025 there have been nearly 500 Felician Sisters buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. As we continue to pray for the repose of their souls, we know that through the Communion of Saints, they continue to guide us and strengthen us here on earth. We are convinced that this bond reinforces our Faith, and for this gift we are forever grateful. We look at the graves of all the Religious Congregations, and we say to ourselves, and to the world: ‘What a sight! Whole fields sown with love. Whole fields of markers naming the women who have followed Jesus their entire lives.’ May we do the same.”
The Prayer and Wypominki service, led by Father Gary Michalik, WSDPAHS President, concluded with the singing of “Witaj Królowo Nieba” led by Father Cannon Walter Ptak, a WSDPAHS board member.
In the second part of the event Sister M. Andrew Budinski CSSF gave a very engaging presentation that focused on the lives, service and awe-inspiring accomplishments of the first Felician sisters who came to Wisconsin, answering the call of Father Joseph Dąbrowski. These five pioneers, Mary Monica Sybilska, Mary Cajetan Jankiewicz, Mary Wienceslaus Zubrzycka, Mary Vincentine Salomea Kalwa and Mary Raphael Swozeniowska travelled from Kraków by train to Wrocław then to Hamburg, to continue on boat to London and to New York where they arrived on November 21, 1874. The journey was perilous, so were the beginnings of their new life in Polonia, Wisconsin; filled with hardships, isolation, natural disasters such as floods and fires that during the first year twice destroyed their meager dwellings. Nevertheless, they persevered and over the decades built a magnificent legacy, while always following the teachings of their founder Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska, and serving the needs of the people. These include education, medical care and end-of-life services and support with the Angela Hospice in Livonia being an example of such a facility.
Present at the gathering was Sister Wirginia Nowak (originally from the Warsaw Province), a member of the Felician General Council that in Rome serves as the governing body of the Felician Sisters. During the Q&A that followed the presentation, she commented that today it would be “rather” impossible to send Felician sisters to work in such dire circumstances, as the five sisters encountered.
Currently worldwide there are around 1000 sisters, working as educators and caretakers, giving hope and compassion, advocating for the marginalized, as well as the environment, and “being sisters” to all.
The next part of the event was visiting the graves of the Felician Sisters and laying a wreath and lighting a candle. On a beautiful fall day, the visitors walked around the site, sang the hymn “Jusus, remember me” and further reflected on the Sisters’ legacy. Neither of the five original Polish Felician Sisters are buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
Members of the WSDPAHS also lit a candle at the monument to the Polish Blue Army soldiers buried at the cemetery.
Earlier this year, in January, the WSDPAHS honored the Felician Order for their important work for Polonia during the annual Opłatek. Yesterday’s event marks almost the year of paying tributes and remembering the religious order from Poland which arguably has played a crucial role in making the Polish American community as strong and successful as it is today.
