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Mary Carol Hoke, SSJ
SisterBiography
Home parish: St. Brigid, Meadville, PA
Before entering the Sisters of St. Joseph, Sister Mary Carol Hoke spent four and a half years working as a secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Highways. During those years, she attended daily Mass and received Communion regularly, and it was during this time that she began to recognize a call to religious life. She credits her mother’s prayers, along with the love and caring example of the Sisters of St. Joseph and the dedicated parish priests she knew while growing up at St. Brigid Parish, with guiding her toward her vocation. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on August 30, 1951, and professed her final vows on August 15, 1957.
A native of Meadville, Sister Mary Carol attended St. Brigid Grade School and Meadville High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Villa Maria College in Erie in 1964. She later became certified in elementary library science at Edinboro State College in 1968, an area of study that would become an important part of her later ministry.
Sister Mary Carol spent much of her ministry in education, teaching at schools throughout the Diocese of Erie. Her assignments included St. John, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick Schools in Erie; St. Leo’s High School in Ridgway; St. Francis High School in Clearfield; St. Bernard School in Bradford; and St. Mary’s School in Reynoldsville. She also served as principal and teacher at St. Brigid School in Meadville and as principal and teacher at St. Joseph School in Erie, where she served for many years.
Her ministry eventually brought her back to her hometown of Meadville, where she taught and served as a librarian at Seton Catholic School for more than two decades. She also taught at St. Agatha Catholic School and served as a rectory clerk there. In addition to her work in education, Sister Mary Carol served as a clerk at Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie.
After decades of serving students, families, and parish communities, Sister Mary Carol brought her gifts for organization, learning, and service to the Sisters of St. Joseph Community Living Center. She served as the congregation’s librarian, a ministry she described as “a delightful place in which to minister.”
Throughout her life, Sister Mary Carol has been guided by a deep trust in God. Psalm 27 is especially meaningful to her because it teaches her “how to trust in God entirely, regardless of what happens.” She also remembers with gratitude the many Sisters and clergy whose faith touched and guided her throughout the years.
Looking back on her ministry, Sister Mary Carol is grateful for the many people she encountered along the way. Her early assignments brought her into contact with dedicated parents and children, while her years as principal of St. Joseph School allowed her to serve the Erie community in a new way. Later, she was blessed to return to her home parishes in Meadville, where she spent many years teaching and serving as a librarian.
