The novel coronavirus has swept through a Roman Catholic convent outside of Detroit, taking the lives of 13 nuns in just three months.

The nuns, ranging in ages from 69 to 99, were all members of the Felician Sisters convent in Livonia, Michigan, according to the Global Sisters Report.

Twelve of the members died of the respiratory illness between Good Friday on April 10 and May 10. A 13th member initially survived the virus but later died from complications in June.

The nuns who died all had different jobs working at the 360-acre campus including teachers, a librarian, and a secretary in the Vatican Secretariat of State.

According to the report, at least 19 other sisters in the United States have died from the virus.

However, the report added that the 13 deaths in Livonia, "may be the worst loss of life to a community of women religious since the 1918 influenza pandemic.”

Suzanne English, the executive director for mission advancement, told CNN approximately 50 sisters reside at the convent.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the residence implemented strict rules on visitation and group activities to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

However, once the first person at the convent contracted the virus, it quickly spread.

"I first heard two aides had contracted the virus," Sister Mary Andrew Budinski told Global Sisters Report. "We don't know who they are, and we don't want to know. Then it hit sisters on the second floor, and it went through like wildfire."

Another sister added, "We all knew if it hit the place, it would be bad. But we never anticipated how quickly it would go."

Seventeen nuns recovered from the virus, however, a statement released in early July noted that several sisters are still "struggling to recover from a variety of effects," CNN reported.

As of July 22, there at least 83,184 cases of the coronavirus in Michigan and 6,385 deaths, according to data from the New York Times.

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