Home parish: St. Joseph Cupertino, Ellicott City, MD

Sister Carmel Rojek, SSJ, was born and raised in Lackawanna, New York, near Buffalo, and graduated from Lackawanna High School. She first encountered the Sisters of St. Joseph through religious education classes at Our Lady of Victory Basilica. Although she initially explored religious life with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Buffalo, she ultimately entered the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi, where she spent 44 years before later transferring to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Sister Carmel earned an Associate of Arts degree from Holyoke Community College and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts. Her nursing ministry included psychiatric nursing and work as a nurse practitioner at Northampton State Hospital in Northampton, Massachusetts. She also served as a school nurse at St. Stanislaus Parish in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and cared for retired Sisters. In 1987, she went to Rome to pursue religious studies at Regina Mundi College, receiving a certificate of studies in 1991. Following her studies, she returned to the United States and served in congregational leadership, including as a house leader and vice-provincial of the American Province of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi.

In addition to nursing, Sister Carmel dedicated many years to catechetical ministry and religious education. She served as a religious education coordinator and teacher at St. Stanislaus Parish in Chicopee, taught at Holy Cross Parish in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and coordinated and taught religious education at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Granby, Massachusetts. After participating in a religious renewal program at the former Ecclesia Center in Girard, Pennsylvania, she discerned a call to transfer to another congregation. Following a three-year formation process, she was accepted into the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania and made profession in 2011. Her ministries have included caregiving with Home Instead Senior Care in Erie and participation in the Saint Vincent Hospital Prayer Ministry.

Sister Carmel’s call to religious life was a profound conversion experience. As a young adult, she began asking deep questions about the meaning of life and spent long periods in prayer at her local church. Gradually, she felt increasingly drawn to Jesus Christ and came to recognize that God was calling her to a total commitment of service and faith. Though she initially considered other ways to serve, she realized she could no longer ignore this invitation and chose to dedicate her life to God as a religious Sister.

Psalm 139 is one of Sister Carmel’s favorite sources of spiritual inspiration because it reflects God’s designs, mercy, and love for each person. The Eucharist and the celebration of Mass also sustain her spiritual life. She finds particular inspiration in St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures, which celebrates the beauty and unity of creation and reminds her of the kinship shared by all people and the natural world.

Throughout her life, Sister Carmel has been guided by the faith and example of her family, especially her parents and brother. Her brother encouraged her to attend Mass regularly, taught her the importance of doing what is right, and nurtured her appreciation for classical literature and music. These influences, together with her growing relationship with Christ, continue to shape her commitment to prayer, compassionate care, and service to others.