Christine Vladimiroff

Sister Christine Vladimiroff, OSB (January 12, 1940 – September 25, 2014) was the prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie from 1998 to 2010. In 2004, she was also president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, USA.

Formative years and family Born in Erie, Pennsylvania on January 12, 1940, Christine Vladimiroff was the oldest child of John Vladimiroff and Agnes (Olszewski) Vladimiroff. She graduated from St. Ann's Parish School and St. Benedict Academy in Erie, and then entered the Benedictine Sisters of Erie in 1957, where she took her final vows in 1962.

The announcement followed months of prayer vigils, periods of fasting, and meetings that Vladimiroff held with the members of her order to debate the directive that had been issued in March of that year by a department in the Vatican that was responsible for oversight of religious communities across the globe. Vladimiroff had also even traveled to Rome in May, "accompanied by two Benedictine experts in canon law, to argue that Chittister's appearance would not flout rules against 'teaching against the authority of the pope,'" but was unsuccessful in convincing Vatican officials to reverse their decision. Following her announcement to her order, she issued her own letter, informing the Vatican "that the Benedictine idea of authority and obedience differed from 'that which is being used by the Vatican to exert power and control and prompt a false sense of unity inspired by fear."

Illness, death and interment In declining health during her final years, Vladimiroff died at the age of seventy-four at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Erie on September 25, 2014. Her funeral services were held at the monastery on September 29 and 30. Her remains were then interred in Trinity Cemetery on October 1.

Awards and other honors Named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania by the Governor of Pennsylvania in 2013, Vladimiroff was the recipient of multiple awards throughout her professional and religious life, including the:

Adrian Dominican Educational Leadership Award, Barry University, Miami, Florida (1990); Catholic Woman of Achievement Award, College of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey (1997); Distinguished Alumna and Sister Carolyn Hermann Award for Outstanding Community Service, Mercyhurst University (1997); Leadership Award, Second Harvest National Network (1998); Archbishop Oscar Romero Award, Mercyhurst University (1999); Distinguished Pennsylvanian, Gannon University (2001); and the Hunger Hero Award, Bread for the World (2004).