Sister Maria Eden Loyola, OSC, is recovering from a July heart attack, and her community is asking for prayers through Blessed Stanley Rother.
Sister Maria Eden Loyola, OSC, a Poor Clare of the Franciscan Monastery in Langhorne known for her devotion to prayer and service, is battling health complications following a severe heart attack in mid-July. Her community is now calling for prayers through the intercession of Blessed Father Stanley Francis Rother, hoping for a miracle that could aid both her healing and his canonization.
Sister Eden, originally from the Philippines, has been a member of the Poor Clares for 18 years. Before entering religious life, she worked as a medical technologist in Kuwait and the United States.
Within the monastery, she is known for her quiet acts of service: making altar breads, tending gardens, cooking meals, and sewing shrouds for the Secular Franciscans.
“Sister loves to garden, and her flowers have adorned our altar and chapel areas,” said Sister Jean Therese, OSC. “She also enjoys preparing delicious meals for the Sisters.”
As a cloistered contemplative religious Sister, her life is dedicated to prayer for the Church and the world through singing and participation in daily Mass, praying the Divine Office, hours spent before the Blessed Sacrament, and corresponding to people’s prayer requests, Sister Jean Therese explained.
Despite initial improvement in her heart function, Sister Eden continues to battle major infections and respiratory complications with Sister Jean saying it would take “a miracle” to provide her with complete healing.
The Sisters are now turning to Blessed Father Stanley Francis Rother, a martyred priest from Oklahoma whose cause for sainthood is underway.
According to Sister Jean, the community received a stole on St. Clare’s Feast Day that had been touched to Father Rother’s blood. It was a gift from a former seminarian who knew him personally and asked the Sisters to pray for his canonization.
“We really don’t know what God’s Will is,” Sister Jean said, “but we are asking for this miracle for Sister Eden—if this is what God wants.”
The Poor Clare community is now inviting the faithful to join them in prayer, asking for Blessed Father Rother’s intercession and a miracle of healing.
“Sister would appreciate the prayers,” Sister Jean added. “We all would.”
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