Coronavirus tore through an upstate New York convent in December, with dozens of positives killing at least nine nuns to Covid-19.
The outbreak took place in St. Joseph’s Provincial House – a convent for retired and sick nuns run by the sisters of St. Joseph. Joseph of Carondelet is run – in Latham, New York, just outside Albany.
A spokesman for the order confirmed that 47 sisters tested positive and that at least nine died in the last month of 2020 from Covid-19.
“Currently, three of our sisters living in the provincial house have been treated for the virus and are under the care of their personal doctors,” he said. Mary Rose Noonan wrote in an email to NBC News, adding that most of the nuns who tested positive recovered. Twenty-one convent employees tested positive and recovered, while five remained in isolation, Noonan said.
“Like all members of our global community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet wrestled with the tragic consequences of COVID-19,” Noonan wrote, saying they followed all safety guidelines of CDC and New York.
“We pray that the increasing number of cases across our country is temporary, and we mourn not only the loss of our sisters who succumbed to this terrible disease, but also the loss of all lives during this pandemic around the world. We look forward to after the vaccine and the end of this global health crisis. ‘
Throughout the Christmas season, the Facebook page for the Albany chapter of the Sisters of St. Joseph van Carondelet filled with obituaries.
Covid outbreaks have plagued nursing homes and facilities such as the Provincial House, where many older Catholic nuns spend their final years.
Eight Catholic nuns died in a convent in Wisconsin last month, NBC News reported, with four dying the same day.
“All of us … pray for the sisters during this challenging time,” said Mary DeTurris Poust, director of communications for the diocese of Albany.
“In addition to the loss of so many beloved sisters who have served so selflessly for decades, there is the added problem of not being able to celebrate their lives as a community due to COVID restrictions. As for so many people who have lost loved ones in the past months, the already difficult task of mourning is made even more difficult by isolation and lack of closure. ”
