Mary Lou Kownacki

Sister Mary Lou Kownacki (November 29, 1941 – January 6, 2023) was a Roman Catholic Benedictine nun, peace activist, and writer. She was a close friend and collaborator of fellow nun and activist Joan Chittister. Kownacki was arrested 13 times over the course of her life for activism-related offenses. In her biography, Kownacki wrote that at age 16 she saw an angel in her bedroom after returning home from a party. She confessed to it that she thought she was making a "real mess" of her life, and the angel told her to "go to the convent". Despite believing she was "not the type," Kownacki accepted the idea and joined the vocation club.

She entered the Benedictine Sisters of Erie in 1959, at age 17. Over time, and after reading Christian authors such as Daniel Berrigan and Thomas Merton, Kownacki developed a belief "in the complete incompatibility of Christianity and war". That same year, she was arrested for the first time, after trespassing to pray at the trial of the Harrisburg Seven. After spending almost a week in jail, she was released on April 2, Easter Sunday. In 1976, she was arrested following a sit-in at the Rockwell International offices in Pittsburgh. Kownacki also joined Pax Christi in the 1970s, following the establishment of a branch in the United States. In 1985, she organized Peace Pentecost, another anti-war demonstration in Washington, D.C., during which 270 of 1,500 participants were arrested for trespassing to pray in off-limits areas. She served as a national coordinator at Pax Christi from 1985 until 1991, during which she voiced support for the anti-nuclear movement.

From 1992 until 2002, Kownacki was the director of development and communications for the Benedictine Sisters of Erie.

Kownacki died at age 81, on January 6, 2023, after three years with uveal cancer.

Awards Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award for outstanding community service (2004)

Publications Peace Is Our Calling: Contemporary Monasticism and the Peace Movement (1981) Prayers for a New Millennium