Sister Agnes Zich
Sister is celebrating 75 years as a Holy Cross Sister. She was born in Vsetin, Czechoslovakia, on February 5, 1914, to John and Magdeline (Kocurek) Zich. She had a twin sister Mary, a younger sister Rose and a brother named Joe. In 1920 the family arrived in Mott, ND. “We stayed at a hotel for the night because it was so late. Next day we were taken to the farm about 2 miles from Mott, which my father had rented. He did not expect us as none of mom’s telegrams reached him. It was Christmas Eve. After Christmas vacation we started school. It was hard but we learned the language fast.
Sister Agnes with her sister Mary
Sister Agnes entered Holy Cross Convent in Merrill, WI, on August 1, 1931, and made her First Profession on June 24, 1935. Sister explained what drew her to the Holy Cross Sisters. “I saw a picture in a magazine at home of a sister walking in front of a convent. I thought about going someplace and being quiet and praying. My mother went to Dickinson Hospital for surgery, and it was there that I got to know Holy Cross Sisters. I talked with my pastor in Mott, and he really encouraged me to enter the convent and told me that if I ever needed help to call and he would come. I never needed to call him,” Sister said.
There have been many memories over the past 75 years for Sister Agnes. “I loved my days of retreat and Sundays of Recollection. My concept for religious life was that of prayer. I also remember loving to go on trips to see different things.”
Sister remembers Sister Theodorine, her novice mistress. According to Sister Agnes, “She was very strict but just and I liked her very much. She always had an encouraging word for me.”
Sister attended Athenaeum of Ohio; Dayton University; and Mundelein College, Chicago, IL.
Her teaching ministries took her to Dickinson, ND; Deer Park, OH; Haymarsh, ND; Fenton, MO; Rhinelander, WI; Antigo, WI; Hahnville, LA; Vacherie, LA, Medford, WI; Nurse’s Aide and Pastoral Ministry in Merrill, WI.
Sister now resides at Bell Tower Residence in Merrill, WI, where she is the oldest living sister in the USA Province at age 96. Sister loves doing crafts and puzzles. 
