Home Parish:     Immaculate Conception, Johnstown, PA

It was during her junior year of high school, during a vocation talk, that Sister Stephanie Wagner first began to wonder if God might be calling her to religious life. A Sister of Charity told the students, “Some of you are being selfish with God and He may be calling you.” Sister Stephanie carried those words with her, prayerfully discerning them for about a year and a half before realizing that she was indeed being called. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1951 from Immaculate Conception Parish in Johnstown, PA, and professed her final vows in 1956, taking the religious name Sister Stephanie.

Sister Stephanie received her early education at Immaculate Conception Elementary School and Catholic High School in Johnstown. She continued her education at Villa Maria College in Erie, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. She later earned a Master of Science degree in mathematics from Edinboro University and pursued additional studies in gerontology at Gannon University.

Throughout her ministry, Sister Stephanie devoted herself to education and to caring for others. She taught at St. Andrew, Villa Maria Elementary, Sacred Heart, St. John, St. Peter Cathedral, and Blessed Sacrament Schools in Erie, as well as Holy Rosary School in Johnsonburg and St. Bernard School in Bradford. She also served as a housemother at St. Joseph Home for Children in Erie.

Sister Stephanie later expanded her ministry to include religious education, serving as a diocesan consultant at the Mercer County Catechetical Center and Holy Rosary Parish in Erie. In this role, she offered religious education programs for students with hearing impairments and special educational needs. Within the Sisters of St. Joseph, she served as coordinator of the Rosary Hall infirmary and later in the same capacity at Marycrest Infirmary at the Villa Maria Community Living Center.

Her ministry of compassionate presence continued beyond her years in education and healthcare. Sister Stephanie served as a volunteer, visitor, and Eucharistic minister at St. Mary’s Home at Asbury Ridge and also visited nursing home residents through St. Andrew Parish in Erie.

The Scriptures have been a particular source of inspiration throughout Sister Stephanie’s life, especially the Gospel of Luke. She appreciates the way Luke brings out the humanity of Jesus, saying that it gives her “much hope.” She has also been inspired by the writings of Henri Nouwen, Richard Rohr, and Robert Wicks.

Looking back on her vocation, Sister Stephanie remembers the many Sisters who influenced her, beginning with the Sisters she encountered in grade school and high school. She especially recalls a Sister of Charity whose words during that high school vocation talk prompted her to consider God’s call. Later, while beginning her ministry in Rosary Hall with the infirm Sisters, Sister Catherine Ann Earley became an important influence. Sister Stephanie remembers her for her “foresight and wisdom,” qualities that left a lasting impression.

Through decades of ministry, Sister Stephanie has continued to respond to the call she first heard as a high school student—serving others through education, compassionate care, religious formation, and a faithful presence to those in need.