Sister Francis Winifred Schnell
1925-2009

Although the daughter born to Francis (Frank) and Winifred (McMahon) Schnell was baptized Mary Martha, she hardly knew that name as she was called “Sister” by her parents and two older brothers, Edward and Francis, Jr. There were actually five children in the family. The first children were twins, who lived only a few days. Mary Martha Welland Schnell, the youngest, was born on January 5, 1925, in Detroit, eight years younger than Edward and four years younger than Junior. In her autobiography, she wrote:

My mother was a beautiful, strict Irish lady; my German father was an efficient and hard working Detroit policeman, Commander and Chief most of his life. I have memories of my mother often walking the beat with him.

At one time her father was head of the vice squad. She remembered:

When I was only six or seven years old, Dad would take me along when he staged raids on gambling joints or in the Cass Corridor red-light district. I’d sit in the back of the car while he staked the establishment out. Then he’d go into a bar and make a call to headquarters, ordering the place to be hit.

She also recalled going to the station house, where the officers spoiled her and gave her candy.

In 1937, when Mary Martha was twelve years old, the family moved to a home in Algonac, Michigan, near Port Huron. It lay on 120 acres of land. All of the Schnell youngsters had attended St. Catherine School in Detroit with the IHM (Immaculate Heart of Mary) Sisters, but after moving to Algonac Mary Martha graduated in 1940 from eighth grade at Swartout Public School. After three years at Algonac Public High School, she was sent to St. Joseph Academy in Adrian for her last year and graduated in June 1944. Her high school years included business courses—typewriting, bookkeeping, and shorthand.

Having come to love and greatly admire her Dominican teachers, Mary Martha decided to join them. She entered the postulate shortly after graduation on June 25, 1944. On January 3, 1945, she received the habit and her religious name, Sister Francis Winifred, taken for her parents. “It was a special joy to have them attend the beautiful Reception ceremony.”

She professed her first vows on August 13, 1946, and was sent almost immediately to West Palm Beach, Florida, where she taught for four years, at first in third grade and then in fourth. She taught at St. Ann School but lived at Rosarian Academy. There, she wrote, “Sister Brigetta, my postulant mistress, was now my first superior and mentor.” The next four years were in Chicago, three years at Queen of Angels in third and fourth grades and a year at St. Rita with first graders. She then spent seven-and-a-half years in Detroit, seven years at Visitation on all levels, including junior high, and a semester at Holy Name in junior high.

During these years, she studied during the summers, and in July 1955 Siena Heights College (now University) in Adrian conferred a bachelor’s degree upon her with a major in English and minors in history and Latin. She also earned fifteen hours toward a master’s degree at Siena Heights and at Wayne State University in Detroit.

When in 1957 the Adrian Dominicans changed from the large to a smaller veil, an article on the change appeared in the November 28 issue of the Michigan Catholic, and she was featured in three pictures: one with another sister, a close-up in which she was wearing the old veil, and a close-up in which she was wearing the new one.

In December 1962 she was sent to help at St. Theresa Home in Cincinnati, Ohio. For the next school year she remained in Cincinnati as a middle grade teacher at St. Vincent Ferrer School.

The balance of Sister Francis Winifred’s ministry was in Detroit. She ministered for three years at Our Lady of Sorrows and two years at St. Jude School. Although she felt comfortable with children, she had come to realize that teaching was not where her talents lay. In 1969 she returned to Our Lady of Sorrows Parish as a social worker. After two years, she became a counselor and house mother at Heartline, which maintains three temporary residences in Detroit for girls who have nowhere to go. There she also worked with the poor and elderly. She visited “homeless and destitute people on the Boulevard” as well as seniors and “found them to be gentle folks who never complained and appreciated every little thing you did for them.” An article on Heartline, showing a large picture of her with two volunteers, appeared in the June 6, 1973, Detroit News.

She was also an active member of the Neighborhood Advisory Council. In 1974 she took a thirteen-week course on Police Procedure and Department Organization, and graduated from the Police Academy. For the next twenty years she served as a chaplain in the Police Department, “answering calls early and late, a special joy and privilege!” This work was done after her regular ministry hours—in the evenings and on weekends.

In December 1973 she began four years of service as secretary for the Director of Chaplains at Harper Hospital. Her father died in 1973, and she became involved in caring for her mother until 1982, when her mother died. Both of her brothers also died, Edward in 1945 and Francis, Jr. in 1974, leaving her as the sole survivor of her immediate family.

In the April 2, 1975, issue of the Detroit News, she and Mrs. Carol Parks were featured in a picture and article titled “A Department ‘First’: Two Female Chaplains Join Detroit Police.” In the September 9, 1975, issueshe and Mrs. Carol Parks were again featured in a large picture and article entitled “Police Chaplains: Heart Behind the Shield.”

In the January 1977 River Terrace News, a publication by the owners of River Terrace Apartments where Sister Francis Winifred lived, we read:

A member of the Dominican Order, Sister Francis was one of the last of her order to completely discard the traditional garb, and she still prefers to wear the veil for some occasions. But not for her volunteer work as a police chaplain. . . . She counsels police officers and their families, acts as a liaison between the community and the police department, and at times helps with family crisis calls the officers routinely make. Working with the police is especially rewarding for her because her late father was a well-known Detroit police officer for many years.

From November 1978 to May 1988 she served for almost ten year as office manager at Luther Haven Nursing Home. In December 1987, she received the Spirit of Detroit Award “in recognition of exceptional achievement, outstanding leadership, and dedication to improving the quality of life.” At the wake Sister Joan Sustersic said:

Captain Francis Winifred Schnell was the subject of Chapter 12 (Sister Schnell) in a book written by Walter Wagner called GOD SQUAD (The drama of the Detroit Police Chaplains Corps trying to use God where guns have failed). She stood up to the Black Panthers, counseled people, and prayed with families who lost loved ones in a plane crash in Detroit. Wagner said, “Chaplain Schnell is nothing if not courageous. She’s made of stern stuff, a true-grit nun unafraid of a fight.”

The Black Panthers had moved into the house next door to the convent where she lived. They had put up posters on the walls picturing various Communist leaders, and when they were not around she tore the posters off the walls. They sent her a letter telling her that they knew she was the perpetrator and that she would have to pay to replace the posters, which were expensive. Acts of vandalism followed when she refused to pay, including trying to set fire to the parish school and ripping out the telephones. Then they tried to run her down in a parking lot, but missed her by inches.

The Panthers held a community meeting to expel her from the area, accusing her of hatred for black people; but a young man whom she’d helped recover from drug addiction told the group, “She saved my life.” The people took a voice vote, and were almost unanimous in wanting her to stay with them. The Panthers soon moved out of the neighborhood.

In July 1988 Sister Francis Winifred became a pastoral minister at St. Charles Borromeo Parish, also ministering to the elderly. This ministry lasted for fifteen years. At the wake, Sister Kathleen Gaynor said:

I came to know Sister Francis Winifred Schnell twenty years ago. . . . I found her to be quiet, unassuming, and kind to all she worked with. She worked in and for the elderly and disenfranchised in nursing homes and on the streets adjacent to the St. Charles Borromeo Parish. She begged for food, clothing, possibilities for work employment, and health care.

Sister Marcine Klemm also spoke of those years.

I was Sister Francis Winifred’s Chapter Prioress, met her at meetings, and was always impressed by her quietness and unassuming manner. When I became aware of her ministry, I was astounded. She was ministering to the elderly. . . .  She had a wonderful way of addressing them, being with them, and making their lives better.

Her work at St. Charles Borromeo was great. The pastor praised her highly for being there constantly and being present to the people. I visited three or four group homes with her. She was wonderful to the people. She listened to their stories, interacted with them, played games with them—it was heart to heart, and they were so grateful for her being there for them.

In 2003, after a heart attack and a knee replacement, Sister Francis Winifred found it necessary to return to Adrian and became a resident at the Dominican Life Center/Maria. It was a hard decision for her to make, since she loved the work she was doing and the people she served. After a long wait, God took her to eternity on April 6, 2009, at the age of eighty-four.

Sister Francis Winifred’s wake-remembrance service was held in St. Catherine Chapel on April 7. Sister Joan Sustersic, Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, welcomed those who had come to bid Sister Francis Winifred farewell: her friend Sister Marjorie McEntee and her many Dominican friends. Her friend Joanne Post came for the funeral. Sister Joan summarized Sister Francis Winifred’s life and ministry, and added:

Sister Francis was a charming person who would do anything in the world for you. Always, she thanked one for coming to see her, or for any compliment. She had two very dear friends, Joanne Post (a former Detroit policewoman with whom she served) and Mary Margaret Bolda. They became her family and were very faithful in visiting her and, when she was able, having her visit them.

Over the past several years, she had suffered memory loss and a slow weight loss—perhaps just giving up and missing life on the Boulevard. She was in the hospice program to assist her in her comfort and care. When her energy dwindled, she just had no reserve to keep fighting. There was one thing that kept her going—that was chocolate! She might not have had an appetite for much, but when we said “chocolate,” she brightened up and was ready for a piece any time.

Father Roland Calvert, OSFS, was the presider and homilist at Sister Francis Winifred’s funeral liturgy on April 8. In part, Father said:

Our second reading was St. Paul’s beautiful hymn to love. . . . Sister Francis Winifred expressed her love in a great variety of ministries, generously giving herself to others. She reached out to the poor and disenfranchised in a special way. . . . She was a deeply spiritual woman who made the Lord the center of her life.

The adjectives I’ve heard to describe Sister Francis Winifred are ones like “quiet,” “reserved,” “unassuming.” But when one learns about her various ministries, other adjectives like “courageous,” “strong,” “determined” come to mind. Her encounters with the Black Panthers alone make one question “quiet” and “reserved.”

In her autobiography, Sister Francis Winifred said of her life:

Mine was a normal and peaceful life, having enjoyed all the varied ministries. [Some would no doubt question the adjectives “normal” and “peaceful.”] This probably should be credited to God’s abundant grace and my good parents. Fellow workers along the way truly blessed my days; especially am I grateful to Sister Marjorie McEntee, OP, who never ceased to call, write, or phone, and to bless me with her presence.

As Father Roland said:

The first reading from Isaiah speaks of God’s unflagging strength. God helps the weary and fatigued to go on. They will soar as with eagles’ wings. . . . Our faith tells us that Sister is free of her burdens, and today does, indeed, soar in God’s presence.