Franciscan Sister of Chicago M. Alacoque (Sophie) Czartoryski, 94, died Sept. 18.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she was drawn to religious life by the sisters at St. Casimir School there. She entered the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago convent in 1931 at 15.

Two years later, after graduating high school, she entered the novitiate. She made her final vows in 1946.

She ministered for five years in the motherhouse and at St. Joseph Home for the Aged, which was attached to the convent, working as director of the residents; dining room and in the kitchen, garden, laundry and chapel. 

She taught at Five Holy Martyrs (1946-1949) and St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr (1949-1952). 

After getting a degree in home economics, she taught sewing and home nursing for 17 years at Madonna High School. Then, after completing a program for dietitians, she ministered as a hospital dietitian in South Dakota and Ohio. She returned to Madonna High School in 1984 and served as maintenance supervisor for a year.

After assignments in Ohio and Poland, she returned to Our Lady of Victory Convent in Lemont for a sabbatical year and ended up staying and working in several ministries. She held the position of minister of hospitality until 2014.

In 2011, she was the first recipient of the Franciscan Weaver Award, which honors a Franciscan Sister of Chicago who embodies the Franciscan charism and shows Franciscan joy in her daily life.