Former Religious Name: Sister Mary Anthony
Home Parish: Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Bradford, PA

Sister Josephine DePetro first heard about the possibility of a vocation to religious life when she was in eighth grade. During that time, Father Daniel Lord told her that she had a vocation. Although she initially pushed the thought aside, she began praying for guidance about what God was calling her to do. As a high school senior, the thought returned, and Sister Josephine began to recognize that God might indeed be calling her to religious life. Having always wanted to work with children and the poor, she eventually realized that the Sisters of St. Joseph offered a way to live out that desire. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on August 31, 1955, from Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish in Bradford and professed her final vows on August 15, 1961, taking the religious name Sister Mary Anthony.

Sister Josephine graduated from St. Bernard High School in Bradford in 1955 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from Villa Maria College in Erie. She later continued her education at St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota, earning a Master of Arts degree in Social Ministry.

Her ministry has been marked by a deep commitment to education and service, particularly to children, families, and those in need. She taught for more than 20 years in diocesan schools, including Blessed Sacrament, St. Joseph, Sacred Heart, Holy Rosary, Our Lady’s Christian, and Our Lady of Peace Schools in Erie. She later served as a McKean County Juvenile Probation Officer for 11 years, from 1980 to 1991, working with young people in another setting.

Sister Josephine also devoted many years to religious education and family ministry. She served as Director of Religious Education at Immaculate Conception Parish in Clarion and at St. Mary’s Interparish in St. Marys, where she combined three parish religious education programs. She facilitated workshops on parenting skills, provided counseling for parents, and taught CCD methods for the Diocese. Within the Sisters of St. Joseph, she served as the In-Home Coordinator at the Sisters of St. Joseph Community Living Center, continuing her ministry of care and presence.

Sister Josephine credits her family and the Sisters who taught her with helping to shape her vocation. “My parents encouraged me by their example and love,” she recalls. Her first encounters with the Sisters of St. Joseph came through religious education classes at the public school, where the Sisters came once a week to teach catechism. Later, during eighth grade, she attended the Summer School of Catholic Action and had the opportunity to witness postulants and Sisters making their temporary and final vows. Although the experience touched her, she did not immediately consider religious life for herself.

As a high school senior, Sister Josephine planned to attend nursing school in Youngstown, Ohio. Everything seemed settled, but she continued to feel a “gnawing” in her heart. With encouragement from two of her high school teachers, she traveled to Erie to visit the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse. It was her first time visiting a convent, and the experience helped her recognize where God might be leading her. She later visited the convent in Bradford and felt that God was inviting her to “Come and See.”

Throughout her years as a Sister of St. Joseph, Sister Josephine has continued to find inspiration in the call to serve others. She identifies the Sisters who taught her—particularly Sister Francisca, her third-grade CCD teacher, and Sister Mary Marrieta, her high school teacher—as important influences. Sister Mary Marrieta taught her Latin, English, and Spanish, but also encouraged her to pray the Rosary each day and ask God to show her what He wanted her to do and to grow in His daily grace.

Sister Josephine finds continued inspiration in Scripture, particularly the reminder from 1 John 4:10 that love begins with God’s love for us, and from Romans 2:11 that “God shows no partiality or favoritism.” These passages reflect the spirit that has guided her ministry. “I always wanted to help others,” she says. “Our charism, ‘connecting neighbor to neighbor and neighbor with God, without distinction,’ has kept me answering the call.”

Sister Josephine continues to embrace the call to religious life with gratitude. Her life of teaching, religious education, advocacy, and compassionate service reflects her belief that “each day is a gift from God,” and that with prayer, “all things are possible.”