Sr. Mary Idalia Konopka, CSSF, has been a Felician Sister for 85 years. She now lives at St. Joseph Care Center in Livonia, where she serves as the “Dean of Felicians” as the longest-serving member of the congregation.Felician Sister in ministry for 85 years
Livonia — A nun’s call to serve the Lord never ends. It just changes as the years go by.
For 85 years, Sr. Mary Idalia Konopka, CSSF, has been answering the call to serve the Lord.
At 102 years old, Sr. Konopka’s peers say she is a living testimony of serving the Lord in whatever capacity one is able. Confined to a wheelchair, the Wyandotte native brightens the mood at the Livonia-based St. Joseph Care Center, where she’s been a resident since 1999.
During her 85 years of being a Felician, Sr. Konopka has taught for 35 years at 15 different schools, with seven of her students going on to become priests or religious.“When I was a sophomore in high school, I decided I wanted to become a Felician,” said Sr. Konopka, who spends most of her time in her room but does make it out for social events and Masses at the Felician-run ministry.
Sr. Konopka was born Genevieve Konopka on April 16, 1915 to Theophilus and Katherine (Yonkin) Konopka. She was the sixth of 11 children growing up in Wyandotte, where her mother stayed at home and her father worked in the City of Detroit.
After attending Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Wyandotte from grade school up until her second year of high school, Sr. Konopka transferred to the Seminary of the Felician Sisters in Detroit, graduating in 1932 and joining the congregation soon after.
Sr. Konopka made her first profession of vows in 1935 and her final vows in 1941, beginning a 35-year teaching career that took her to 15 different schools, including Queen of the Apostles in Hamtramck (1935-39), St. Casimir (1940-42; 1948), Sacred Heart (1942-43) in Detroit, St. Florian in Hamtramck (1948-50), St. John Cantius (1962-1963), St. Christine (1963-64), St. Andrew (1964-1965), St. Valentine (1966-67), all in Detroit and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Wyandotte (1968-70).
Sr. Konopka served as principle at Our Lady of Refuge in Orchard Lake (1953-56) and taught in the Dioceses of Gaylord, Saginaw and Fort Wayne-South Bend.
“Teaching was my favorite part about being a sister,” Sr. Konopka said. “For more than 30 years I was a teacher, teaching in the eighth grade. I don’t know if I was a good teacher, but they kept having me back year after year.”
For countless students in the Archdiocese of Detroit, Sr. Konopka was their mentor. Thirteen became priests or religious, including four who became Felician Sisters.
“It was fun being a teacher, everything was exciting, and I just loved it,” Sr. Konopka said. “I don’t remember too many bad students, but I can’t seem to recall my favorites right now.”
Today, Sr. Konopka’s joyful presence is her way of continuing her religious life, 85 years after entering the Felician Congregation, said Sr. Anita Taddonio, CSSF, Local Minister of St. Joseph Convent and Care Center.
“Sr. Konopka’s presence here is so inspiring to the rest of us,” Sr. Taddonio said. “She has this clever wit she expresses every once in a while, and it’s just amazing when she does talk; she has this deep voice, it’s charming.”
Sr. Taddonio admits Sr. Konopka doesn’t participate in most of the social events at St. Joseph’s, but her joyful attitude about life inspires the other Felician Sisters.
“She’s just a sweet, happy person,” Sr. Taddonio said. “I admire her spirit of gratitude, happiness, which represent the Felician spirit. St. Felix was called ‘Brother Deo gratias,’ and I’ve always seen her in that happy spirit.
“Sr. Konopka shows a vocation is not a job. You never retire. She told me many times, she has a happy family life and a happy convent life. And that spirit of joy lifts the rest of us to be better people.”
