On Nov. 10, at Hanceville’s Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in her 94th year, Sister Mary Michael of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, P.C.P.A., peacefully went home to the Lord. Fortified by the sacraments of the Church and surrounded by her community, Sister Michael completed over 74 years of religious life at 11:37 a.m. during a brief and rare early snow shower.

Born on Feb. 25, 1931, to Joseph and Helen Shinosky, Evelyn entered Sancta Clara Monastery in Canton, Ohio on Aug.15, 1951, and received the habit and her new name the following May. Sister Mary Michael made her first profession on May 1, 1954.

Not long after her solemn profession on May 1, 1960, Sister Michael agreed to come with Mother Angelica to the new foundation in the South. Sister Michael loved her vocation from the beginning and put her whole heart into all the challenges of this new adventure. With an unassuming nature, Sister Michael would shrug when anyone showed surprised interest over the details of this new monastic beginning. From squeezing into an overcrowded station wagon with her paper bag of ‘belongings’ for that first trip to Alabama, to each of Mother Angelica’s new inspirations to evangelize, Sister Michael showed stalwart fidelity to the Lord through thick and thin. 

Known for her practical wisdom and sensible approach to challenges, in her senior years, Sister Michael was called upon to serve the community as vicar and councilor for several terms. She had a deep love for her Catholic faith and was especially inspired by the Church fathers, becoming a fervent devotee and avid reader of St. Augustine, who in her estimation was the greatest. 

She held in high esteem the priesthood and missionaries who make tremendous sacrifices for the faith she loved so much. Sister Michael greatly treasured her relationships with family and friends who each held an important place in her heart. It was beautiful to witness her sense of gratitude for all who showed her kindness. She was also renowned in the monastery for her talent in baking, cooking, and sewing. 

Sister’s love for young vocations and new members took on a new spark as she drew closer to eternity. Her love of the P.C.P.A. life and fidelity to prayer continued to grow throughout her last days on earth. She persevered in attending Mass until she no longer had the strength to sit in her usual place. Once she had moved into the infirmary, sisters would often find her having fallen asleep with her hands folded in prayer or silently praying, oblivious to her visitors. 

Sister Michael would often say in her last days, “I am so grateful for all the prayers for me.” No doubt she would want all to experience as she did the truth of the words of her beloved St. Augustine: “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance: to seek Him the greatest adventure: to find Him, the greatest human achievement.”

Her Mass of Christian Burial was held at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament on Saturday, Nov. 15.