Mercy Sister Mary Ludmilla Benda, 94, died Jan. 27 in Chicago.

Sister Ludmilla grew up in Ohio and earned a nursing degree before entering the Sisters of Mercy in 1947. She ministered as a nurse and nursing supervisor in Iowa and Chicago, serving as Mercy Hospital Davenport’s administrator in Iowa for six years and then as administrator of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago for six more years.

She also served as a pastoral associate, worked in home health care, was director of a diocesan volunteer program and held several professional leadership roles.

In Davenport, she began Fr. Conroy’s Vineyard of Hope in honor of her late friend, Father James Conroy. The ministry fed and provided showers, laundry and clothing to 80 to 150 mostly homeless people every Sunday for 13 years.

She moved to Mercy Circle in Chicago in 2018 because of poor health.