Sister M. Salvatore Sipkovsky, OSF

JULY 26, 1893 - JANUARY 13, 1988

Come, my love, arise from your bed,
Supple your limbs now and able to dance to the music
Your heart has played these many years

This lovely verse written in honor of Sister M. Salvatore Sipkovsky at the time of her death speaks of freedom, freedom of years of physical pain. It speaks of faithfulness and a joyous return to God of love and of mercy.

Sister M. Salvatore was born to John and Maria (Balent) Sipkovsky on July 26, 1893, one of 15 children. On the day of her birth she was also baptized, receiving the name of Anastasia. Mr. Sipkovsky was the owner of a large vineyard, and Anastasia and the rest of the children often helped in the care and picking of the grapes. Ill health and also the need to help in the farm work caused her to discontinue her public school education after only four years.

Trusting in God’s providence, Anastasia left her beloved family and homeland to venture to the United States on March 19, 1911. Little did she realize at the age of 17 that she would never again see her family and native land. Arriving in New York City young and alone, Anastasia sought domestic work for wealthy Jewish families in the city. In her older years, she fondly recalled taking the children of the families for walks in the park. 

She also remembered her burning desire to attend Sunday Mass and the difficulties she experienced getting there. During this time, she also served as a cook for a community of Sisters of Charity. Those were happy years for her, not only because the Sisters were very kind, but also because she had the freedom to practice her faith and attend Mass.

During the six years Anastasia performed domestic work, her faith and love for God grew stronger. Her own simple faith and, perhaps, the example of the Sisters finally led her to enter religious life. But because of her strong Slovak roots and the guidance of her confessor, Rev. Stephen Krasula, her choice of communities was not the Sisters for whom she worked, but rather the School Sisters of St. Francis. On September 8, 1917, Anastasia entered the postulancy at St. Gabriel Convent on Pittsburgh’s North Side.

Our community in North Side was very young, established in 1913. The beginnings were difficult, and the Sisters lived in very crowded conditions. But Anastasia entered into her new life with enthusiasm and a joyous spirit of sacrifice. She entered the novitiate on August 7, 1918, taking the name of Sister Salvatore. A year later, Sister pronounced her first vows and, on August 19, 1928, made her final commitment to God.

For 43 years, Sister Salvatore faithfully served our community, doing domestic work in various convents in both Pittsburgh and Bethlehem, Pa. She had a great love for nature and was often seen in the convent garden cultivating flowers to be adorn the chapel. In 1962, Sister retired to Monocacy Manor in Bethlehem.

Many of the 69 years Sister Salvatore lived in our community were years of severe physical pain. Crippling arthritis locked her knees and deformed her fingers and, for many years, she stood from her time of rising until retiring at night because she could not bend her knees. This caused her feet to swell and her entire body to ache. Yet up until a few years before her death, she slowly made her way to the convent kitchen to peel potatoes so that she could be of some help to the Sisters.

Sister Salvatore had a great love for celebrations and simple rejoicing with her Sisters. She was always on hand to entertain a Feastday celebration, frequently playing a Philip Sousa march on her comb (with waxed paper over it) or on her treasured kazoo.

The last two years of her life, Sister Salvatore was completely bedridden, yet continued to teach us the lessons of faithfulness and simple faith from her bed. We will remember her for her love for life and for nature, for her straight-forward honesty, for her eagerness to learn, and for her love for our congregation.

Sister Salvatore died on January 13, 1988. She is buried in St. Francis Cemetery at Monocacy Manor in Bethlehem, Pa.