6th Religious Sister at Wisconsin Facility Dies of CCP Virus

These six women, retired sisters from Our Lady of the Angels Convent in Greenfield, Wisconsin, tested positive for the CCP virus after their deaths. (Courtesy of Our Lady of the Angels)

A sixth woman who lived at Our Lady of the Angels Convent in Greenfield, Wisconsin, tested positive for the CCP virus after her death, officials say.

Sister Josephine Seier, 94, died on May 1. A medical examiner’s postmortem examination revealed she tested positive for COVID-19, the disease the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus causes, according to Michael O'Loughlin, communications director for School Sisters of St. Francis.

The convent cares for retired religious sisters from the School Sisters of St. Francis and the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Seier’s death is the fourth among former nuns from the School Sisters of St. Francis, according to officials. The others are Sister Marie June Skender, 83, who died April 7; Sister Annelda Holtkamp, 102, who died April 19; and Sister Bernadette Kelter, 88, who died April 26, O'Loughlin told CNN. They were all diagnosed postmortem.

Two School Sisters of Notre Dame who lived in the Wisconsin facility were also diagnosed with the virus postmortem, according to Trudy Hamilton, spokeswoman for the School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province. They are Sister Mary Regine Collins, 95, who died April 6, and Sister Mary Francele Sherburne, 99, who died April 9.

“For many weeks, Our Lady of the Angels has been working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Milwaukee County Health Department, infection control specialists, and the Greenfield Health Department for months to protect our sisters and staff against COVID-19; and once the presence of the virus was identified, to prevent further spread,” Jane Morgan, administrator of Our Lady of the Angels, said in a statement.

“We are also working closely with the leadership of the School Sisters of St. Francis and the School Sisters of Notre Dame to keep them informed,” she said.

The CNN Wire and Epoch Times staff contributed to this report