Are you looking to connect or re-connect with one of our sisters? If so, this is the right place!
Search by sisters’s name, and don’t worry if you don’t know her last name — this is searchable by first name. Did you know that after Vatican II, many sisters returned to using their birth names rather than the religious names they were given when they entered the congregation? We’ve included current and former names to make your search easier. Just search by the name you remember.
Feel free to click the Get In Touch link to send a message a sister. If that sister is deceased, but you want to make an inquiry, send an email to publicrelations@ssjerie.org. (Please note: messages sent to sisters via the website may not be private — please do not include personal or confidential information.)
If you would like to make a donation in honor or memory of a sister, click here.
Marjorie Adams, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Agatha
Home parish: St. John the Evangelist, Girard, PA
Josephine DePetro, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Mary Anthony
Home parish: Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Bradford, PA
Perpetua Dickant, SSJ
Sister
Sister Perpetua Dickant
Home parish: St. Leo, Ridgway, PA
Sister Perpetua Dickant, SSJ, was born in Ridgway, Pennsylvania. She received a bachelor’s in elementary education from Villa Maria College, Erie, in 1972. She participated in many seminars and workshops on early childhood education in Washington, DC, Richmond, VA, and Harrisburg, PA. Sr. Perpetua entered the Sisters of St.…
Phyllis DiFuccia, SSJ
Sister
Former Religious Name: Sister Paula Marie
Home parish: St. Peter Cathedral, Erie, PA
Mary Drexler, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sr. Mary Kristen
Home parish: Sacred Heart, Erie, PA
André Feulner, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sr. Mary André
Entrance: August 31, 1955
Final profession: August 15, 1961
Home parish: St. Ann, Erie, PA
Nancy Fischer, SSJ
Sister
Entrance: September 1, 1968
Final profession: September 10, 1978
Home parish: St. John the Baptist, Erie, PA
Mary Helen Forney, SSJ
Sister
Mary Helen Forney, SSJ
Home parish: St. Mary of Angels, Olean, NY
Virginia Formey, was born in Olean, N.Y. After graduating from Olean High School in 1953, she felt an invitation to become a Sister and requested information from the Sisters of St. Joseph. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania from St.…
Margaret Frank, SSJ
Sister
Margaret Frank, SSJ
Former religious name: Sister Immaculata
Home parish: St. Leo Ridgway, PA
Sister Margaret Frank, SSJ, was born in St. Marys, Pennsylvania. She graduated from St. Leo High School and Elementary School, Ridgway. She received an M.Ed. from Edinboro University, Edinboro, Pennsylvania, in 1974 and a BA from Villa Maria College, Erie in 1964.…
Mary Fromknecht, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Ann Raymond
Entrance: August 27, 1958
Final profession: August 15, 1966
Home parish: St. John the Baptist, Erie, PA
Linda Fusco, SSJ
Sister
Entrance: March 1, 1992
Final profession: September 22, 2001
Home parish: St. Joseph, Sharon, PA
Bernadine Gehringer, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Mary Michael
Entrance: August 31, 1955
Final profession: August 15, 1961
Home parish: St. John the Baptist, Erie, PA
Josette Gocella, SSJ
Sister
Josette Gocella, SSJ
Home parish: St. Bernard, Bradford, PA
Sister Josette Marie Gocella was born in Bradford, PA. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 8, 1954, from her home parish, St. Bernard, Bradford, Pennsylvania and professed her final vows on August 15, 1960. She received an MA in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago, an MA in English from Gannon University, Erie, and a BA in English from Villa Maria College, Erie.…
Margaret Ann Hardner, SSJ
Sister
Margaret Ann Hardner, SSJ
Home parish: St. Patrick, Erie, PA
An Erie native, Sister Margaret Ann Hardner attended St. Patrick School, Villa Maria Academy, and Villa Maria College, all in Erie, before attending Xavier University and Providence College. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph from St. Patrick’s parish on September 2, 1949, and she professed her final vows on August 15, 1955.…
Mary Herrmann, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sr. Rosemary
Entrance: September 8, 1960
Final profession: August 15, 1968
Home parish: St. Ann, Erie, PA
Susan Herzing, SSJ
Sister
Entrance: September 8, 1966
Final profession: September 15, 1974
Home parish: St. Mary, St. Marys, PA
Phyllis Hilbert, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Joseph Therese
Entrance: August 28, 1957
Final profession: August 15, 1965
Home parish: St. Luke, Erie, PA
Mary Carol Hoke, SSJ
Sister
Entrance: August 3, 1951
Final profession: August 15, 1957
Home parish: St. Brigid, Meadville, PA
Martha Howick, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Mary Walter
Home parish: St. Agatha, Meadville, PA
Ann Marie Joint, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister John Patrick
Home parish: St. Ann, Erie, PA
Mary Rita Kuhn, SSJ
Sister
Entrance: September 1, 1950
Final profession: August 15, 1956
Home parish: St. Andrew, Erie, PA
Catherine Manning, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister James Miriam
Home parish: St. Bernard, Bradford, PA
Phyllis McCracken, SSJ
Sister
Entrance: August 29, 1971
Final profession: August 6, 1977
Home parish: St. Patrick, Erie, PA
Veronica Mittal, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Andrene
Entrance: August 28, 1957
Final profession: August 15, 1965
Home parish: Sacred Heart, Sharon, PA
Carol Morehouse, SSJ
Sister
Carol Morehouse, SSJ
Home parish: St. Peter Cathedral, Erie, PA
Sister Carol Morehouse, SSJ, is a native of Erie, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Villa Maria Academy and Villa Marie College in 1971 with a BS degree in Elementary Education. She furthered her studies, earning a JD degree in Law from Duquesne University Law School in 1986.…
Elizabeth Ann Niebauer, SSJ
Sister
Entrance: August 27, 1958
Final profession: August 15, 1966
Home parish: Blessed Sacrament, Erie, PA
Margaret O’Brien, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Mary Matthew
Home parish: St. Joseph, Oil City, PA
Rosemary O’Brien, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Cordelia
Entrance: August 27, 1958
Final profession: August 15, 1966
Home parish: St. Joseph, Oil City, PA
Maria Onuffer, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Maria Goretti
Home parish: Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Lewis Run, PA
Margaret Pellerite, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Anthony Marie
Home parish: St. Francis, Clearfield, PA
Nancy Prenatt, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Ann Charles
Home parish: St. Venentius, Rouseville, PA
Carmel Rojek, SSJ
Sister
Carmel Rojek, SSJ
Home parish: St. Joseph Cupertino, Ellicott City, MD
Sister Carmel Rojek, SSJ, was born in Lackawanna, NY, and graduated from Lackawanna High School. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from Holyoke Community College and a bachelor’s degree in Science from the University of Massachusetts School of Nursing. Sr. Carmel was initially accepted into the Sisters of St.…
Maria Assumpta Ruza, SSJ
Sister
Entrance: August 31, 1955
Final profession: August 15, 1961
Home parish: Holy Family, Erie, PA
Mary DePaul Sabella, SSJ
Sister
Mary DePaul Sabella, SSJ
Home parish: St. Philip, Crossingville, PA
Mary DePaul Sabella, SSJ, was born in Crossingville, PA. She attended Crossingville Grade School and received a religious education certificate from Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart in 1952. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on August 15, 1945, from her home parish, St.…
Nancy Sonnenfeld, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Frederick Claire
Home parish: St. John the Baptist, Erie, PA
Marianne Stuckert, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Joanne
Entrance: August 30, 1967
Final profession: August 7, 1976
Home parish: Blessed Sacrament, Margate, NJ
Marie Timmons, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Louis Martin
Home parish: St. Andrew, Erie, PA
Dorothy Wilwohl, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Edward Marie
Home parish: Holy Rosary, Erie, PA
Barbara Ann Zakutney, SSJ
Sister
Former religious name: Sister Mary Zita
Home parish: Sacred Heart, Houtzdale, PA