Jan. 1918-Dec. 1920

There are innumerable things to read during this far from "normal" time. Many of them medical and many of them historical. Here's one that caught my eye and led me to a little research. The 1918 influenza pandemic was also referred to as the Spanish Flu and is measured from January 1918 through December 1920. 500 million people or 1/3 of the world's then population were infected. 50 million (10%) died. In the USA the number of deaths was 675,000. One unusual characteristic about it was that the high mortality rate for those 15-34 years old.

This led me to our necrology board as I wondered if any of our sisters in that age group died during that time. Sure enough I found two: Sisters Germaine, 28 and Angela, 32. I'd have to go to the archives to verify if their causes of death were influenza.

But once I got in this vein, I wanted to see who, how many and when did young sisters die...say under age 25.
Here's some of what I found:
In the 1860s and '70s were these deaths: Placida, 22---Walburg, 19---Austraberta, 21---Hilda, 24---Boniface, 22---Hildegard, 15.
In the 1880s and '90s: Bertha, 21---Thecla, 21---Stephanie, 17---Angela, 18---Eustella, 21---Pauline, 18---Agnes, 19---Sabina, 22.

And two others that stood out: Sister Zita age 18 in 1904 and Sister Antonia age 21 in 1916.

If I'm remembering my community reading correctly, most of these deaths were from diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia, as the conditions under which they lived were quite basic and rough, but maybe some were from a type of flu, too.

There are many things to mention in our daily prayer, but those who are dying without any family member present and the families that must live with the memory of their loved ones dying under these conditions, are truly heartbreaking.

Let us remember all of these and the other sacrifices and sufferings that our brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing these weeks. God's blessings and mercy be with you and yours during these days of Holy Week.