Cenacle News
Our dear Sister Rose Juszkiewicz, 92, went home to God in the early morning of, Sunday, February 12, 2012, at Resurrection Hospital in Chicago. Because of a fall in her bedroom at Resurrection Life Center on Saturday, she was taken to the hospital where she died peacefully. Her heart simply gave out.
Rose was born on January 18, 1920, in Paris Township, Huron County, Michigan, the child of John J. and Johanna (Opak) Juszkiewicz. She was baptized a week later by Rev. J. Mueller in the Church of St. Mary in Parisville, Michigan. Her parents were born in Austria and were married in Poland where Mr. Juszkiewicz made a living by farming. In 1910, after the birth of their second child, they decided to emigrate to the United States because young men were being conscripted into military service.
It was in California where Rose found the Cenacle. After making retreats in the Carmichael Cenacle (Sacramento), she decided that God was calling her to enter the Cenacle Novitiate in Long Island which she did on October 17, 1960. She pronounced her first vows on May 7, 1963, and was assigned to the New Orleans Cenacle for a year, then to St. Louis where she managed the Retreatants’ Dining Room. In 1967, she traveled to Rome with several other sisters aboard the ship Michelangelo. She professed final vows in Rome on May 7, 1968. In the years after final vows, Rose served in various Cenacles: Warrenville, Metairie, Chicago (513), Carmichael (CA), Chicago (Longwood), mostly as treasurer. While attending to the myriad tasks of the treasurer’s office, she wrote the Employees’ Manual for the Cenacles of the Midwest Province.
She only listened to one voice and He called her home.’” Yes, that was our dear Rose. We miss her and thank God for her love, her fidelity and her presence amongst us. While in life she sang, “I left my heart in San Francisco,” her heart is now in heaven where she sings a new song.
Our Dear Sr. Rita Anne Houlihan was called home to heaven in the early morning of Saturday, September 24th. After suffering courageously from a virulent form of Reynaud’s disease for the last few years, she breathed her last peacefully at St. Matthew’s Center, Rainbow Hospice in Park Ridge, IL. She was 88 years old and had been a Cenacle Sister for 63 years.
Her declining health required hospitalization and after several weeks at Resurrection Hospital, she was transferred to Rainbow Hospice for evaluation. Knowing the gravity of her condition and feeling the peace and comfort of the hospice, she told the caregivers that she wished to die there. Some of her last audible words were, “I’ am filled with LOVE.” The God of love called this daughter of St. Therese home at 3:20 a.m. on Saturday, September 24, 2011.
Rita Anne is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Joe and June, her sister Janet and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. While her family and friends and her Cenacle Sisters will miss Rita Anne, they are filled with gratitude for having known and loved her and having been loved by her. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at the Chicago Cenacle on Tuesday, September 27th. The presider was Fr. Angel Sierra.
Our Dear Sr. Rita Foy went home to God in the early morning of Saturday, July 23. As a thunderstorm raged outside, she slept away very peacefully at Resurrection Life Center in Chicago at the age of 94. For some weeks she had been unable to eat and could drink very little water. However, she remained alert until the day before she died and welcomed many visitors and numerous telephone calls even though she could speak only in a whisper the last few days. Her brother Francis (Chicky) and her niece Christine came from the East to spend some wonderful days with Rita several weeks before God called her home.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on July 26, 2011, with Fr. James Gschwend, S.J., as presider.
Along with a multitude of others, we love you, Rita, we miss you, and we thank God for your loving us.
Sr. Agnes Sauer, 84, a sister of the Cenacle for 63 years, died on March 17, 2010 at Resurrection Hospital in Chicago. After surgery for a fractured hip, she was recuperating at Resurrection Life Center when she suffered a massive stroke the morning of March 15th. She was taken to the hospital where she went peacefully to God at 5 p.m. on the Feast of St Patrick, just as the sisters at the Cenacle were beginning the Eucharistic celebration. Sr. Agnes Sauer was a great person and will be missed by many.
Many people that visited the Warrenville Cenacle will remember Sr. Cathy since she spent most of her spiritual life at the Warrenville Cenacle Spirituality Center. Although she passed away after several years as a resident of St. Patrick's Residence in Naperville, Sr. Cathy chose to stay close to the Warrenville Cenacle and her many friends that lived in the area.
Sr. Cathy contributed to the Prayer Office by helping to hand paint enrollment cards for many years. We will miss her.
On Sunday August 2nd, The Warrenville Cenacle had their 1st Annual Reunion, we had a mixture of Employees, Sisters and Retreat League Members. We got permission to use the clubhouse at Emerald Green in Warrenville. It was potluck and we had so much food, chicken was provided by the Cenacle Prayer Office and everyone brought side dishes and desserts, it was so yummy!
It was a wonderful day reconnecting with friends and co-workers. Talking about what everyone is doing now and enjoyed great stories. The Warrenville Cenacle has a very special place in our hearts and it was great seeing and sharing that with each other again. Everyone is looking forward to the 2nd Annual Reunion.
