Here are the names of the Felician Sisters that were assigned to the parish of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Detroit, Michigan at the time of the 1940 U.S. Census.
Mary Dombrowska (Head), age 42, born in Ohio.
Anthonina Parz, age 73, born in Poland.
Petronella Kosmecko, age 55, born in Poland.
Pauline Cichs, age 53, born in Michigan.
Frances Strugarek, age 53, born in Poland.
Anastasia Gatza, age 48, born in Michigan.
Anna Nowak, age 45, born in Ohio.
Veronica Zawodna, age 48, born in Ohio.
Sophie Grabowska, age 46, born in Michigan.
Mary Dembowska, age 43, born in Ohio.
Helen Szczepanska, age 42, born in Michigan.
Anna Bodalska, age 29, born in Pennsylvania.
Bernice Konwinska, age 33, born in Michigan.
Mary Gersztyn, age 28, born in New Jersey.
Regina Blaszczak, age 28, born in Pennsylvania.
Genevieve Konopka, age 24, born in Michigan.
Loretta Korkus, age 25, born in Michigan.
Helen Polakowski, age 22, Pennsylvania.
Hedwig Witalec, age 24, born in Michigan.
Frances Markowska, age 21, born in Michigan.
Loraine Sitkiewicz, age 52, born in Poland.
I want their names to get out there, appearing in search engines across the Internet. It’s been my experience that nuns were often the forgot lot among those who chose a religious life. When I look back on the 25th and 50th Jubilee books for Assumption parish (published in 1937 and 1962 respectively), I find that the priests had full page portrait photos with their names as captions (not just the current priests but the previous as well) but the nuns had no photos or names at all in the 25th Jubilee book and only photos with the children in their classrooms in the 50th Jubilee book. Their names were not included. It’s almost as if they took vows of not only poverty and chastity but of invisibility as well. I find that very sad as they worked every bit as hard as the priests. Yet little mention of them was made in commemorative publications.
Assumption Sisters in the 1940 U.S. Census
I wish these circumstances were only true for Assumption parish, but sadly that’s not the case. I have 14 parish jubilee books and the lack of photos/names of the good sisters from those parishes is all too common. They just never seem to have gotten the billing that the priests, the choir, the Rosary Society members, those making their first Holy Communion, the Holy Name Society, the Altar Boys, etc. got. So I’m glad to see their names in the 1940 U.S. Census and I’m happy to extract those names here for their family members to find.
The Catholic Gene 
I noticed that in the 1940 census, in contrast to earlier ones, that nuns were shown with their given names, rather than their professed names. No more “Sister” as a first name in indexes!
It was a pleasure to see my husband’s Aunt, Anastasia Gatza in this census entry. Thank you for posting it for us.
I think it really depends on the enumerator on whether or not the nun was listed by the religious name only, the religious name with the surname, or by their given names and surnames. I have seen it all ways on various censuses, including religious names only on 1940 (I just answered a question on the FamilySearch indexing forum about this very situation). I have been following one particular convent in Houston, Texas, through the 1880, 1910, 1920, 1930, and now 1940 censuses (apparently they were skipped in 1900) and seen them recorded all three ways. And sadly, in 1940, the government REALLY screwed up and called the convent and associated all-girls academy “Our Lady of Perpetual Help” instead of “Incarnate Word,” the name it had since 1873 and still has today.
Would you be in San Antonio?
Nope, this convent is in Houston. 🙂
Jasia, I’m surpised that their last names are listed. In previous census lists they were listed as Sister Marie Camilla for instance. Often “Sister” was in the last name field. One way of locating nuns is to contact the order’s motherhouse. They can provide a biography with a complete list of everywhere the nun was sent to work in.
Thank you all for your comments. I do believe that census records for nuns did differ from parish to parish. For instance, at St Francis D’Assisi, a parish less than a mile away from Assumption, the nuns are listed by their real names with a notation at the bottom of the page that says, “Enumerated at Mother House, Cleveland, Ohio”. However, on that same page in very feint text, all the columns next to the sisters’ names contain data but you have to really strain to see it. It’s almost like the enumerator wasn’t sure whether to record it or not so they did it lightly in pencil instead of pen. In any event, I just wanted to point out that in this census, you can find the nuns listed by their real names in at least some parishes. And I’m glad for that. 🙂
Hedwig Witalec was a relative on my father’s side.
I went to Assumption in the late 50’s early 60’s.I remember Sister Mary Janet,Sister Mary Imelda,Sister Mary Ines,Sister Mary Lenore,Mother Arcadia.
Would I be able contact you to look through the jubilee books? Are you in Michigan?