Sister Mary Lou Kownacki (November 29, 1941 – January 6, 2023)[1] was a Roman Catholic Benedictine nun, peace activist, and writer.
[1][2] Kownacki worked as an educator in Erie, Sharon, Oil City, and Fryburg for her first few years as a sister.
[5] It also hosted a store "selling goods from Third World artists and craftspersons," and published a newsletter about issues related to peace and justice.
[1] In 1972, she was a member of the Harrisburg Defense Committee, a group which raised funds for the trial of antiwar activist Phillip Berrigan.
[5] In 1973, Kownacki and two other women from Erie were arrested for praying at the White House as part of a protest against the bombing of Cambodia.
[1] In 1980, Kownacki organized a week-long series of anti-war demonstrations at the Pentagon, in honor of the 1500th anniversary of Benedictism.
[9] 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.
[5] Later that year, she was arrested again for trespassing during a protest at a government atomic weapons testing site in Nevada.
[1] In 2017, she attended the Women's March in Washington, D.C.[13] Kownacki died at age 81, on January 6, 2023, after three years with uveal cancer.