Former Religious Name: Sr. Ann Charles
Home Parish: St. Venantius, Rouseville, PA

Sister Nancy Prenatt, formerly Sister Ann Charles, first felt a call to serve God and God’s people when she was a senior in high school. Although she sensed this call, she initially fought the idea of entering the convent. After graduation, she received training from the Sisters of St. Joseph in Buffalo at Our Lady of Victory Infant Homes, where she earned a certificate as a Child Care Technician. During that year, she witnessed the Sisters’ deep love of God through their care and concern for the infants and students they served. Her experience with the Sisters led her to explore religious communities, and she ultimately decided to enter the Sisters of St. Joseph in Erie. She entered on November 20, 1965, from her home parish of St. Venantius in Rouseville, Pennsylvania, and professed her final vows on September 2, 1972.

Sister Nancy graduated from Venango Christian High School in 1964. She later attended Villa Maria College in Erie, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, and in 1982 graduated from the State University of New York with a Master of Science in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education.

For more than 25 years, Sister Nancy ministered as a teacher in several diocesan schools, including St. George, Holy Rosary, St. John, Our Lady of Peace, and St. Peter Schools in Erie. She also taught in Ridgway and Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania. In addition to her teaching ministry, she was involved in the Congregation’s Formation Ministry for more than 15 years and served as a member of its Global Awareness Committee.

Sister Nancy also brought her gifts and creativity to clown and mime ministry for many years, where she was known as Jingles. From 1992 to 1999, she founded and served as a foster mother through the Wellspring of Life Ministry, caring for medically fragile children. Her dedication to this ministry reflected her desire to share God’s love through compassionate care of those entrusted to her.

Sister Nancy served as part of the Sisters of St. Joseph Leadership from 1999 to 2003. She later ministered in pastoral care at Saint Mary’s Home of Erie and has also assisted with coordinating activities at the Sisters of St. Joseph Community Living Center.

In June 1998, Sister Nancy received the Outstanding Religious Award from the Serra Club of Erie in recognition of her service and ministry.

Throughout her religious life, Sister Nancy has been sustained by the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6: “There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all people.” She is grateful for God’s lavish love and rejoices in the gifts of others, especially those shared in community and ministry.

Sister Nancy credits her father as an important influence on her faith. She remembers the tangible ways he demonstrated his love of God through his generosity, acceptance, and respect for others. Even as a young girl, she learned from his example the importance of these gifts, which continue to encourage her in her own life and ministry.

Sister Nancy continues to recognize God’s sustaining and challenging love as the source of all she needs to love others with gentleness, peace, and joy. She believes that a strong spiritual life is what truly sustains us, deepening our relationship with God and, in turn, our love and service of others.