COLORADO SPRINGS. Sister of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration Bernadette Silva died Nov. 12 at age 95 due to complications from COVID-19.
Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Nov. 16 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Colorado Springs, followed by burial in the Mount St. Francis Cemetery.
Sister Bernadette was born Sept. 19, 1925, in Madison, Kansas, the seventh of 13 children born to Jose and Ynes Silva.
She received the Franciscan habit on Aug. 12, 1945, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1953. Sister Bernadette celebrated her 75th Jubilee this year.
Sister Bernadette was deeply involved in the lives of toddlers, ages 15 months to five years old, as she ministered at St. Thomas Orphanage in Lincoln, Nebraska for five years (1947-1952) and at St. Anthony Orphanage in Albuquerque, New Mexico for 17 years (1954 – 1971). The orphanage closed in 1971.
After 22 years of caring for toddlers, Sister Bernadette studied to become a licensed professional nurse. She was an LPN for 38 years — 15 years at St. Francis Gardens in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as Assistant Director and Director of Nurses and later as Manager of Assisted Living at the Gardens at St. Elizabeth in Denver.
In 2009, Sister Bernadette was able to retire to Mount St. Francis and in 2015 became a resident at the Mount St. Francis Nursing Center.
Memorials can be sent to: Sister Marietta Spenner, Provincials, Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, at 7665 Assisi Heights, Colorado Springs, 80919.