June 14, 1932 — March 24, 2025
Sister Mary Theophilia Tworzydlo, 92, died in Swedish/North Shore Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, after 72 years in religious life.
Sister Mary Theophilia Tworzydlo was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 14, 1932. She was the sixth child born to Andrew and Margaret Tworzydlo. At her Baptism at St. John of God Church in Chicago, Illinois, on July 3, 1932, she was given the name Theresa. At the tender age of three, she lost her father to death. Her mother remarried and eight years later passed away when Theresa was only eleven years old. Her older sisters guided her and cared for her as their mother would. Theresa was enrolled in St. John of God Elementary School and attended Lourdes High School in Chicago, Illinois.
On August 12, 1951, Theresa entered the Postulancy of the Felician Sisters, and the following year, she was given the religious name of Sister Mary Theophilia at her Investiture on August 6, 1952. Her Final Profession took place on August 22, 1959.
Sister Mary Theophilia’s active ministry began in 1953 when she was assigned to teach a second-grade class at St. Mary Magdalen School in South Chicago. After four years, she was assigned to the middle grades and gradually made her way up to teaching the eighth grade and training the altar boys. She had an amazing command of discipline and rapport in her classes. She taught in Felician schools in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
After twenty-five years of teaching, Sister Mary Theophilia was assigned to St. Andrew Home in Niles, Illinois, where she served as Unit Manager for independent senior citizens, resident relations coordinator, and lead receptionist. Her performance assessment from her Supervisors from 1978-2014, a total of 36 years, indicated that Sister carried out such values as compassion, safety, comfort and good communication skills with the residents.
In 2014, she was assigned to Our Lady of the Angels Convent in Chicago, Illinois, and served as a seamstress for the Sisters, repairing anything that needed attention. At that time, she was also the local councilor of the Leadership group.
In 2024, Sister Mary Theophilia began her assignment of ministry of prayer and presence. As her health began to decline, she not only devoted more time to prayer, saying her three rosaries each day and Mercy of God chaplet, but she continued to be an avid reader.
As always, Sister Mary Teophilla would look for something else to do and she created her own sort of ministry. She would seek drivers and give them some of her budget to purchase certain items, usually from the Dollar Store. With the monthly list of birthdays and feastdays in front of her, she would prepare small practical tokens of gifting. Her kind remembrances brought a smile to the sisters.
On Friday, March 21, 2025, she was sent to Swedish/North Shore Hospital by ambulance for assessment of low blood pressure and pain. She was admitted to comfort care when it was evident her condition was declining. Sister Connie Marie Lewandowski and Sister Mary Ursula Myszka spent the last hours with her in prayer and renewing her vows. Early on the morning of March 24, 2025, she was called to God as a faithful Felician Sister. Family, friends and her sisters in community attended a Memorial Mass celebrated by Reverend Anthony Cirignani, OFM, in the Mother of Good Counsel Chapel on April 9, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois.
Since Sister Mary Theophilia gave her body to science, a Funeral Mass will be celebrated when her cremains are returned to the Mother of Good Counsel Convent. Interment will then take place in St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles, Illinois.
