The town lies on Pearl Harbor in a relatively safe area, Sister Bernarda said, so they never really expected a break-in like this.
"Some people just don't have any respect for the Church. And those are the people we have to pray for," she said.
As of Monday, a GoFundMe page set up by St. Elizabeth's pastor had collected more than $31,000 toward a new vehicle for the nuns.
Sister Bernarda said donations have poured in from all over- the last one she saw was from a trucker in Nebraska, who donated $20.
"Twenty dollars is twenty dollars. It's from people's hearts, and we appreciate it. People are just so generous," she said.
Sister Bernarda asked for prayers for an end to the pandemic, as she suspects the thief likely broke into their convent out of desperation.
"People are frustrated, they've lost their jobs, they have to feed their families. So we just pray that this coronavirus will go away so that people can live more normally," she said.
Jonah McKeown is a staff writer and podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has worked as a writer, as a producer for public radio, and as a videographer. He is based in St. Louis.