Sister Irenea Hankewych, OSBM, Falls Asleep in the Lord

Sister Irenea Hankewych, OSBM, fell asleep in the Lord on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Holy Redeemer Hospital. She was 87.

Born Martha Hankewych on May 20, 1939, in Borshchiv, Ukraine, she came to the United States with her parents in 1949. On September 4, 1966, she entered the community of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Basil the Great. She professed her first vows on May 28, 1969, and made her solemn profession on July 28, 1974, taking the religious name Sister Irenea.

For more than five decades, Sister Irenea served as an educator and school administrator in Ukrainian Catholic communities in Philadelphia, Hamtramck, New York City, Parma, and Chicago. She served as principal of St. Josaphat School in Parma from 1991 to 1996 and of St. Nicholas School in Chicago from 1997 to 2018. In 2020, she returned to the Sisters’ Motherhouse in Fox Chase Manor, Pennsylvania, where she lived until her passing. Sister Irenea also generously shared her knowledge of the Ukrainian language, assisting priests with writing and translating homilies. Following the restoration of Ukraine’s independence, she spent many summers serving in Ivano-Frankivsk, particularly at the seminary and the Spiritual Institute.

🕯 Viewing and Parastas

Sunday, July 19
Viewing at 6:00 PM
Parastas at 6:30 PM

Holy Trinity Chapel (710 Fox Chase Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046)

✝ Funeral Divine Liturgy

Monday, July 20, at 11:00 AM
The Funeral Divine Liturgy will take place at Holy Trinity Chapel, followed by burial in the convent cemetery.

We ask the faithful to remember Sister Irenea in their prayers. With deep gratitude, we honor her profound and faithful service to the Church and to countless people through her consecrated life, educational ministry, work within the Ukrainian community, and dedicated service in Ukraine.

May the Lord receive her into His eternal Kingdom and grant her rest among the saints.

May her memory be eternal! Вічная пам’ять!