Home parish: Holy Rosary, Johnsonburg, PA

Sister Moira Sullivan, SSJ, was born in Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania, to William H. and Elsie Penfield Sullivan. She attended Holy Rosary School and Johnsonburg Area Joint School before continuing her education at Villa Maria College in Erie. It was during her college years that Sister Moira began to seriously consider a call to religious life—a call she initially resisted.

During her first two years at Villa Maria College, Sister Moira formed meaningful connections with Sister Lawreace Antoun and several other young women who were also seeking to understand God’s path for their lives. Through these relationships and her own prayer and discernment, she gradually came to recognize that her gifts could best be used as part of a larger family. “I came to a point in my life where I knew I could best use my gifts as part of a larger family, in this instance as a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph,” she recalls.

Sister Lawreace was especially influential in Sister Moira’s discernment. She remembers her as a woman whose brilliance was matched by gentleness and friendship. “Her brilliance yet her gentleness and friendship encouraged me to be who God was calling me to be,” Sister Moira says. These relationships eventually led her to answer the call she had initially resisted. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1961 from Holy Rosary Parish in Johnsonburg and professed her final vows in 1969.

Sister Moira earned a Bachelor of Science degree in English from Villa Maria College and later continued her education, earning a Master of Arts degree in Education from Boston College. She also completed additional studies at Gannon University and the University of Vermont. Her education provided a strong foundation for a ministry centered for many years on teaching, administration, and the formation of young people.

Early in her ministry, Sister Moira taught at Villa Maria Elementary School, Our Lady’s Christian School, St. Patrick School, and Sacred Heart School in Erie, as well as St. Agatha School in Meadville. She later taught at Villa Maria Academy and served as its principal, spending 18 years at the school. Through both teaching and administration, she dedicated herself to helping young people grow in knowledge, faith, and character.

After many years in education, Sister Moira was called to a different form of ministry at the Regional Cancer Center in Erie. For 19 years, she served there as a chaplain, social service coordinator, and volunteer coordinator. Her ministry brought her alongside patients and families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Through pastoral presence, practical support, and compassionate care, she continued to use her gifts in service to others.

Sister Moira also answered the call to congregational leadership. In 2007, she began serving as Treasurer on the three-member Leadership Team for the Sisters of St. Joseph. During this time, she was instrumental as the Leadership liaison during the transition of Villa Maria Academy from a sponsored ministry of the congregation to a diocesan school. She has also served as Director of Communications and as a member of the congregation’s Leadership Team. Her commitment to education and the Sisters’ ministries continued through her service on the Board of Erie Catholic Preparatory High School, also known as Villa-Prep.

Throughout her life, Sister Moira has been guided by the faith and example of many people. In addition to Sister Lawreace Antoun, she names her brother, Msgr. Richard Sullivan, Father Jerry Simmons, Father Richard Rohr, and many of the Sisters in her religious community as sources of spiritual inspiration. Her family also holds a special place in her life. “I am so blessed with my family and greatly appreciate their presence in my life also,” she says. “Their acceptance—and God’s—of who I am means everything to me.”

Sister Moira’s spirituality continues to call her toward growth. One of her favorite and guiding quotations comes from St. Athanasius: “We are always becoming who we will be.” For her, these words are a daily reminder that God’s call is never simply about arriving at a destination, but about continuing to grow in faith and love.

“With God’s grace, I can always move to the ‘more’ … more prayerful, more kind, more loving and especially more aware of being loved by God,” she reflects.

Today, Sister Moira enjoys photography, reading, and writing. She has compiled three inspirational reflection booklets, using her gifts of creativity and reflection to encourage others. Whether through education, pastoral care, leadership, writing, or simply being present to others, Sister Moira continues to live out the call she once resisted but ultimately recognized as God’s invitation to use her gifts within the larger family of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Her journey is one of discernment, growth, and continual response to God’s call. From the young woman who initially resisted religious life to the Sister who has spent decades teaching, accompanying, leading, and encouraging others, Sister Moira continues to embrace the truth of the words that have guided her: “We are always becoming who we will be.”