6th nun dies at Our Lady of the Angels convent in Greenfield, officials say

Sister Josephine Seier, 94.



GREENFIELD -- Sister Josephine Seier, 94, is the sixth nun to die at Our Lady of the Angels convent in Greenfield during the coronavirus pandemic. She tested positive for COVID-19 in a post mortem test on Friday, May 1, according to the medical examiner.

Sister Josephine had been a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis for 79 years.

Statement from Michael O’Loughlin, the Marketing and Communications Director, School Sisters of St. Francis:

Sister Josephine Seier died May 1, 2020. According to the medical examiner, post mortem testing revealed that Sister Josephine, age 94, tested positive for COVID-19.

Sister Josephine was born in Raeville, Nebraska, and was a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis for 79 years.

She served as a homemaker at our sisters’ convents in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. She also ministered in social work and as a caregiver for the elderly. Sister Josephine continued to volunteer at our convent in Campbellsport, Wisconsin, until she retired at age 87. She has been a resident of Our Lady of the Angels since 2012.

A private funeral has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 6. A memorial Mass will be held in St. Joseph Chapel in Milwaukee for sisters, family members, and friends of Sister Josephine after the danger of COVID-19 has passed and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee once again permits public celebrations of the Eucharist. Wednesday’s funeral will be streamed on the community’s Ustream channel.


Our Lady of the Angels is a co-sponsored ministry of the School Sisters of St. Francis and the School Sisters of Notre Dame. It is a state-of-the-art home for retired sisters of both communities and offers specialized memory care.

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 the sisters and staff against COVID-19; and once the presence of the virus was identified, to prevent further spread.