Adrian Dominican Sisters report deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Michigan motherhouse

Michigan nuns: ‘Our prayers rise like incense for all impacted by this global health crisis’

TOKYO, JAPAN - DECEMBER 25: A nun wears a face mask as she attends Christmas Day Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral on December 25, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. As Christians around the world celebrate Christmas, many have had to adapt as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forces churches to close or implement measures such as social distancing and reduced services. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) (Carl Court, 2020 Getty Images)

ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian Dominican Sisters are experiencing a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at their Motherhouse campus in Adrian, Mich.

The nuns announced Jan. 14 that they went more than nine months without having such an outbreak among their residents during the coronavirus pandemic. Now they are trying to mitigate the spread on their campus.

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The AP reported Thursday that nine of the nuns have died from COVID.

Here’s the message from the general counsel:

“After more than nine months of no cases of COVID-19 among resident Sisters, we are now experiencing an outbreak among both Sisters and Co-workers at the Dominican Life Center. The care and safety of our Sisters and Co-workers have been and remain our primary concern. We continue to practice stringent protocols, including quarantines, to mitigate further spread of the virus.

Our prayers rise like incense for all impacted by this global health crisis: the sick and dying, their families, and all healthcare workers and people everywhere who generously and selflessly provide essential services to each and every one of us. Please join us in this prayer.”

Adrian Dominican Sisters

The Adrian Dominican Sisters founded and sponsor Siena Heights University in Michigan. They are a Roman Catholic congregation of more than 500 Dominican Sisters with leaders operating out of Adrian.

Related: Michigan nuns call for immediate removal of Trump from office

Over the summer, the Felician Sisters convent in Livonia reported they lost 13 nuns to COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the region in March.


About the Author:

Dave Bartkowiak Jr. is the digital managing editor for ClickOnDetroit.