80 years and counting: Two IHM Sisters marking more than eight decades of ministry

Right after high school graduation, Annette Boyle of Dearborn entered the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary community in Monroe.

That was June 29, 1941. Soon after, on Sept. 8, Lurana Sankovic entered the community.

On Saturday, Sister Annette, 98, and Sister Lurana, 100, will be formally recognized for 80 years in ministry.

In the IHM’s 176-year history, just 23 other Sisters have attained at least 80 years of service, Calley Duffey, IHM communications director, said.

Both Sisters’ ministries involved teaching and a few surprises. Neither expected to attain the 80-year ministry mark, and both said they’d choose vowed life again. But, the two took slightly different paths to the Motherhouse.

Sister Lurana

Sister Lurana spent two years in the workforce after high school. She did office work for two businessmen in downtown Detroit.

“It was interesting, but I always had a bug in the back of my head. It took a while. I was getting nudged once in a while by the good Lord. I quit that job to come in,” she said.

She knew without question which order to join.

“I always loved the IHM nuns in (Holy Redeemer School in Detroit) school. They were very friendly. Even the Redemptorist priests, they were friendly. It made a difference in how you looked at them,” Sister Lurana said.

When she entered the IHM community more than 80 years ago, there were about 1,200 Sisters. Today, there are 217, Duffey said.

Sister Lurana said it was common for young women in 1941 to join convents, but it certainly wasn't something everyone did. She played basketball in high school, and almost the entire team ended up joining convents.

“Nothing was said among us about going. We didn’t all go at once,” she said.

But, no one else in her family went into ministry. Sister Lurana was the youngest of five children; today, she's the last surviving.

At the IHM, Sister Lurana said the women took classes to discern their interests.

“Some went into nursing, it was according to your interests. There was a fast call. It was sent out from schools to help. I got a taste of it. I didn’t think I’d ever want to start teaching, but I loved it,” she said.

Sister Lurana went on to get a master’s degree and worked in education for many years. She especially enjoyed her time in Emmett.

“It was really family-oriented. These people were close, even though they lived far apart. The families left food for the Sisters, like choice meats, churned butter. These were poor people, but they shared everything they had," she said.

Three of her Emmett students later entered the IHM community.

“I taught for many years. I loved teaching. My last school was Holy Redeemer,” she said.

Her final job in active ministry was at Kundig Senior Citizen Center in Detroit.

“The center took care of destitute people who had nothing. Someone visited and talked about the center. I remembered a Sister (I knew) was there. I went to see it," Sister Lurana recalled. "Things went quickly. I was in charge of the building and arranged the food. Different people from different Catholic churches contributed money. In the end, we had five buildings. It was near the I-96 expressway; they just took it down.”

Sister Lurana lived at the center.

After 11 years, she fell and needed knee surgery. Convalesces forced a return to the Motherhouse. But, once recovered, she went right back to Kundig.

“You just did things. A lot happens by happenstance. Something comes along, and you go there. It’s been an interesting life,” Sister Lurana said.

After returning permanently to the Motherhouse, she worked in the therapy department and even took a mission trip to Mexico. Although now retired, Sister Lurana continues to serve. She helps out regularly in the Motherhouse kitchen.

“We are always busy. If you’re not, it’s your own fault,” she said.

She called her life at the IHM “one big surprise.”

“Everything came together,” she said. “It’s been a happy life. You knew you had the community behind you. You know you always have somebody there for you.”

Sister Annette

Sister Annette always thought she’d marry and have children.

“My mother and father were happily married. I thought, ‘That’s it,’” she recalled. “I always thought I would marry and have children. I expected to have a happy marriage like my mother and dad.”

Then, Patrice, one of her two sisters, entered the IHM community.

“I went to visit her. This was really a beautiful place. I loved it as soon as I got here. God was nudging me. I kept getting this feeling like I should try,” she said.

After graduating from Dearborn’s Sacred Heart High School, Sister Annette joined the IHM community. A number of her fellow graduates also joined religious orders.

She worked for many years as a classroom teacher and principal. She also was on the IHM Northwest Provence Team and ministered at Visitation House of Prayer. She worked in pastoral care, counseled couples and offered spiritual direction. She co-wrote “Prayer to God as a Friend" and she often spoke to people about prayer.

“Encouraging people with prayer, (my ministry) has been very prayer-centered. I work with people, (finding out) what called them to be more like God,” she said.

Her ministry took her to South Africa, where she worked in the poorest areas.

One of her fondest memories happened in Africa. A Holy Cross Sister once invited her to tea, but she got a big surprise upon arrival.

“They had a community assembled to talk to me. I expected one or two people, there were 35. That was a big surprise,” Sister Annette said.

She was even asked to address the crowd.

“I had a feeling God was working in me in doing that. I presented to that big group. God just worked in me. I knew that whatever I did, God would help me. Whatever work I was asked to do, I’d be able to do it. Be open to the surprises of what happens,” she said.

Sisters Annette said she’s been “very happy” at the IHM. Her greatest joy is seeing God in others.

"Seeing God at work in other people and seeing how they changed. I feel very privileged to work with other people," she said.

31 IHM sisters celebrate milestones

Thirty-one IHM Sisters, including Sisters Annette and Lurana, will celebrate milestone anniversaries Saturday.

Jubilee 2022 will celebrate the Sisters' combined 2,000 years of service. It will include a Mass and reception.

“This is a most joyful event,” Calley Duffey, IHM communications director, said.

This year's honorees are:

80 years: Sisters Annette Boyle and M. Lurana Sankovic

75 years: Sister Beth (Marie Alma) Wood

70 years: Sisters Mary Ann (Madeleine Marie) Ford, Margaret (Frances Margaret) Gaffney, Janet (Lucille Therese) Lemon, Mary Ann (John Andrew) Markel, Joan (Lucille Marie) Monsour, Roberta Richmond, Celeste Schoppy and Noreen (Nora Ellen) Tenbusch

60 years: Sisters Nancy (Grace Anne) Ayotte, Patricia (Mary Placid) Bagley, Marie-Esther Haflett, Sharon (Marie Russell) Holland, Helen (Mary La Salette) Ingels, Carol (Mary Florent) Kelly, Theresa (Marie Franz) Korernke, Mary (John Patrick) McCann, Joan (Robert Jean) Mumaw, Margaret Mary (Cornelia) O’Shea, Patricia (Marie Sara) Rourke, Janet (Ann Rita) Ryan, Annette (Madonna Marie) St-Amour, Rose Mary (Mary Romanus) Sam, Patricia (Lillian) Soltesz, Monica (Marie Monica) Stuhlreyer, Margaret (Thomas Adrian) VanVelzen and Elizabeth (John Raphael) Walters

50 years: Sisters Esther LeDuc and Barbara Northrup

The Sisters have served throughout the U.S. and overseas, in places like Italy, France, South Africa, South Sudan and Puerto Rico. They’ve worked in education, prayer ministry, campus ministry, pastoral care, chaplaincy, social justice action and more.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Two IHM Sisters marking more than eight decades of ministry