On the date that we in America honored members of the armed forces on Veteran’s Day, Sister Gabrielis Hu, OSF, had another reason to celebrate. It was her 105th birthday and she was recognized at St. Francis Convent in Springfield. However, her date of birth has always been an easy one to remember. She was born Nov. 11, 1911 — that’s 11/11/11 — in Wuchen, Shandong Province, China.
“Sister Gabrielis had a great celebration with her (Hospital) Sisters and friends from Chippewa Falls, Wis.,” said Brian C. Blasco, director of Communications and Provincial Archivist. Although her longevity is indeed amazing, Blasco said Sister Gabrielis’ life itself is “an interesting story.”
In 1930, when she was still a teenager, she entered the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, who sponsored St. Joseph’s Hospital in Jinan, China from 1925-1948. That same year she came to the United States to study nursing at St. John’s School of Nursing in Springfield. She then made first profession of vows in 1933.
In 1936, Sister Gabrielis returned to Jinan to work at St. Joseph’s Hospital. She also became the religious director of the Chinese women who were entering the Hospital Sisters’ community. However, as time went on, the political situation became serious with the onset of the Chinese Civil War, Japanese Occupation and a Communist takeover. “The (Hospital) Sisters left China in 1948 and came to Springfield, having no direct contact with their families for more than 30 years,” Blasco said.
In addition to nursing, Sister Gabrielis was also trained in histology — which is the scientific study of the minute structure of organic tissues — at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wis., and served there from 1960-1963. From 1963-1980 she worked as a certified laboratory histologist at another Wisconsin hospital, HSHS St. Joseph’s in Chippewa Falls.
Sister Gabrielis spent the next seven years (1980-1987) while she was in her late 40s and early 50s, serving at the Hospital Sisters’ health care mission in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She went back to Chippewa Falls and from 1988-1995 she was a volunteer at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital. Sister Gabrielis returned to St. Francis Convent in 1995, where she now devotes time to prayer.
At one time, there were 35 Chinese women who had taken vows as Hospital Sisters of St. Francis. Those women came from varying areas of China. “In addition to Sister Gabrielis, there remain five Chinese sisters currently residing at St. Francis Convent,” Blasco said.
In 2008, at age 97, Sister Gabrielis shared some important thoughts that Blasco repeated just before the birthday celebration. She stated: “When I decided to become a Hospital Sister, I gave thanks to God for giving me the wisdom to follow him. Even amid the challenges I’ve faced, I remember what my father always told me: Never worry, because worrying does not change anything.”
Her sage advice continued: “God will take care of things as he ordained. Whatever you do, be cheerful, happy and satisfied. Always remember that the Lord has ordained his plan for all eternity, and therefore be resigned to it. Be faithful to where you work and take whatever comes — always trust in God because he will help you.”