Work Of The Sisters During The Epidemic Of Influenza October, 1918

In the autumn of 1918, as influenza ravaged Philadelphia killing tens of thousands, over two thousand Roman Catholic nuns made an extraordinary choice. They left their cloistered convents to serve as nurses, tending the sick and dying in hospitals, orphanages, and private homes throughout the city. Twenty-three sisters would perish from the disease they fought to cure. This slim volume, compiled from the nuns' own firsthand accounts by Villanova University priest Francis Edward Tourscher, preserves their testimony in their own words. The sisters describe the overwhelming crush of the sick, the makeshift bandages, the prayers whispered over fading patients, and the quiet heroism of watching their own sisters fall ill. It is not merely a historical document but a testament to faith made flesh, women who answered a call most would flee.