Sister Mary Elizabeth Julius

Sister Mary Elizabeth Julius, 89
Sister Mary Elizabeth, 89, a Poor Clare cloistered nun, died Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at Corpus Christi Monastery, Rockford, Illinois, after a long illness and complications from Covid. She was born Francine Julius, November 25, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Frank and Mary (Hayes) Julius.

She went to Webster College for one year before entering the monastery on July 28, 1951. She served as a generous Poor Clare in many ways over the last 70 years. She was Vicaress, infirmarian, portress, gardener, cook; and in the 1970’s when there was a rumor of a bomb thrown over the wall, Mother Abbess called on Sr. Elizabeth to “check it out”. Sister, always game, checked it out and returned alive and bomb-less.

In 1990 she volunteered to assist the Poor Clare Nuns in Ellesmere, England, and then helped found a Monastery in Larvik, Norway. In 2013, she came home to Rockford, and has been a joyful presence among us in her final years.
She is survived by her two sisters, Mary Anne and Sally, and nephews and nieces, as well as her religious sisters.

Due to half the community having Covid, there will be no visitation, no wake service, and a private Funeral Mass just for the community with Bishop David Malloy, celebrant and Father Nicholas Federspiel concelebrating. Arrangements handled with Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory.