Feb. 1, 2021 Catholic News Service WASHINGTON This past year as the coronavirus cut through the United States, elderly women religious former teachers, nurses, social workers and pastoral care leaders were among those whose lives were cut short by COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. In some cases, these women, living in convents and cared for by their fellow sisters, died in clusters, leaving their communities with a magnified loss. Groups of sisters who died of COVID-19 complications made headline news for their sheer numbers. The first was a group of 13 Felician sisters who died last spring and summer 12 in the month from Good Friday, April 10, to May 10 and another in June at their motherhouse just outside of Detroit.