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Mother Alexandra Princess Ileana

Born Princess Ileana of Romania
Not yet glorified — held in the living memory of the faithful. This servant of God is remembered with love and gratitude, but is not (or not yet) formally glorified by the Church. No feast, liturgical veneration, or intercession is implied here; what follows is an historical profile, subject to clergy and source review.

Overview

Mother Alexandra was born Princess Ileana of Romania on January 5, 1909, in Bucharest, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. Her early life was one of royal duty, wartime service, and, after the fall of the monarchy, exile.

In her later years she embraced the monastic life, receiving the name Alexandra. In 1967 she founded the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, envisioned as an English-language monastic home open to Orthodox women of every background. She served as its abbess until her retirement in 1981.

She reposed on January 21, 1991, and is buried at the monastery she founded. At her own request her gravestone bears the words of Romans 14:7–8.

Life in Brief

  1. 1909

    Born a princess of Romania

    Princess Ileana is born in Bucharest, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie of Romania. source ↗

  2. 1920s–40s

    Royal and wartime service

    She serves her country, including humanitarian and wartime work, before the communist takeover. source ↗

  3. after 1948

    Exile

    With the abolition of the Romanian monarchy she goes into exile, eventually settling in the United States. source ↗

  4. 1960s

    Monastic tonsure

    She embraces the monastic life and is tonsured, receiving the name Alexandra. source ↗

  5. 1967

    Founds the Monastery of the Transfiguration

    She establishes the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, as an English-language home for Orthodox women. source ↗

  6. 1981

    Retires as abbess

    She steps down from the leadership of the monastery she founded. source ↗

  7. 1991

    Repose in the Lord

    Mother Alexandra reposes on January 21, 1991, and is buried at the monastery. source ↗

Works by Mother Alexandra

  • I Live Again — Her memoir of life as a princess of Romania, war, and exile.
  • The Holy Angels — A book on the angels in the Orthodox tradition.

About Mother Alexandra

  • Royal Monastic: A Biography of Mother Alexandra — A biographical account of Princess Ileana's path to monasticism.

Historical Significance

Mother Alexandra is a foundational figure for English-language women's monasticism in North America — a princess who exchanged a royal life for the monastic one and gave Orthodox women on the continent a home of prayer of their own.

Related Figures

  • Queen Marie of Romania — Her mother; a defining figure of early-twentieth-century Romania.
  • Monastery of the Transfiguration, Ellwood City — The English-language women's monastery she founded in 1967.

Sources

  1. Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration — Foundress
  2. OCA — Remembering Mother Alexandra

Additional citations appear inline beside the timeline above. This profile is a historical account compiled from the sources listed and remains subject to clergy and source review.