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Elizabeth Wawryk was born in Philadelphia, PA, the ninth child of John Wawryk and Anna Pytlyk, both of whom had emigrated from the Ukraine in their teens. The family owned and operated a small “country style” store where one could buy anything and everything. Elizabeth grew up being, it seems, the public relations person in the store, greeting customers and charming them into a purchase. As her sisters, one after the other, married and moved away, the family presumed that Elizabeth would be the one to continue the store. But she had another idea. At the age of 24 she surprised them by expressing her desire to give her life to God as a religious.
On November 28, 1951, she entered Mt St Mary’s as a lay sister, made her Temporary Vows on June 14, 1954, and her Solemn Vows on June 28, 1957. Having been raised in the Eastern Rite, Elizabeth needed to change to the Latin Rite to enter the monastery, but she never forgot her Ukrainian heritage. The deep piety that characterized her family was Elizabeth’s too, and this was obvious to all from the very beginning. She showed herself a wholehearted lover of Jesus, particularly of Jesus crucified. The name she chose, Perpetua, expressed her great love of and devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, an icon of whom she always has near her.
Sister Perpetua was a willing helper in any need, so much so that she was sometimes referred to as Sister of Perpetual Help. Not being a person of great strength, however, she did not find every job easy. For instance, she was unable to master sitting under a cow to milk her, which was a big part of monastery work in the beginning. This terrified her! So, she fed the cows instead, and doing this helped her to conquer many of her fears. When the candy business was begun, she found a place there. But the job she especially loved was cleaning the guest rooms, charming the guests, and keeping them prayerful by talking to them about her love of Our Lady. She also cared for our Father Chaplain, cleaning his room, doing his laundry, and keeping him on the right course in life. Of all the jobs Sr Perpetua excelled in, that of laundering the community clothes, kitchen towels and rags became her trademark in her last decades. She was characteristically seen bent over a huge pile of assorted garments, sorting and folding them, as if they were the apostles’ clothes, she would say.
In her later years when she could no longer walk or use her arms, she would sit, keeping watch from her wheelchair, ever anticipating with a charming smile, strong hand-grip and hearty greeting, any one of us who came through the infirmary door. Every service rendered her was rewarded by a thousand thank-you’s and the promise of so many Hail Mary’s. And always, always, “God bless you. Have a nice day.” Each of us thought she was Sr Perpetua’s favorite.