Home Parish: St. Bernard, Bradford, PA

Sister Josette Marie Gocella first sensed a call to religious life as a young teenager. Although she did not initially identify it as a “call,” she felt a persistent pull toward religious life that continued throughout her high school years. She even asked God to let her experience falling in love so she could know what she was choosing to give up. Through those experiences, she continued to feel drawn to religious life. One evening, while doing dishes with her mother, she shared what she was feeling. Later, she told her father, simply, “Dad, I think I want to be a Sister.” His response was equally simple: “If that is what you want to do, OK.” His support remained a source of encouragement throughout her religious life.

Sister Josette entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 8, 1954, from her home parish of St. Bernard in Bradford, and professed her final vows on August 15, 1960.

Her early ministry centered on education. She taught at St. Andrew, St. John, and Villa Maria Elementary Schools in Erie before teaching at Villa Maria Academy, where she taught English, Latin, French, religion, and journalism. From 1973 to 1976, she served as principal of Villa Maria Academy. Her commitment to learning continued throughout her ministry. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Villa Maria College, a Master of Arts in English from Gannon University, and a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago. She also studied journalism at the University of Minnesota, screen education at New York University and Fordham University, and spiritual direction through St. Louis University and Milford Retreat Center in Cincinnati.

For nearly 35 years, Sister Josette ministered outside the Erie Diocese, embracing opportunities to serve in new communities while remaining deeply connected to her roots as a Sister of St. Joseph. She served as a pastoral associate at Holy Rosary Parish in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1978 to 1987 and at Church of the Epiphany in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1987 to 2003. She also chaired RCIA committees for the Diocese of Memphis and the Archdiocese of Louisville.

From 2004 to 2007, Sister Josette was a founding member of the Administrative Team of the Centre International St. Joseph in LePuy-en-Velay, France, a significant place in the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph. More recently, she served the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office in Louisville through special services and grief outreach before becoming Supervisor of Volunteers for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).

Throughout her years of ministry, Sister Josette has found God present in the lives and faith of the people she has encountered. She speaks with particular joy about the Easter Vigil, a liturgy that begins in darkness before the Easter fire is kindled and the Paschal candle is lit. As the light spreads throughout the church, the community moves from darkness into light, renews its baptismal promises, and welcomes new members into the Church. She is equally moved by the annual Memorial Liturgy for members of the parish who have died, especially as the names of those who have gone before are sung during the Litany of the Saints. For Sister Josette, these celebrations are reminders of the holiness she has witnessed in the lives of ordinary people and of how blessed she has been to know them.

Many of those people have also become teachers of faith for her. She remembers families who endured tremendous hardship, individuals whose lives were transformed by faith, and parishioners whose simple witness to the Gospel continues to inspire her. Their lives have helped her see how faith is not simply something proclaimed, but something lived.

Sister Josette describes her vocation as having included a second call as well. During the years following the Second Vatican Council, she felt deeply drawn to the renewal taking place in the Church and knew she needed a period of extended prayer and discernment. During a 30-day Ignatian retreat in the early 1970s, she experienced a profound moment of prayer in which she distinctly heard God say, “I love you and I want you yet.” She understood those words as another call to religious life—one that reaffirmed her vocation as an adult and has remained with her ever since.

Today, Sister Josette continues to cherish the connections she has made throughout her years of ministry. “With pride, I tell those who ask, ‘I am a Sister of St. Joseph.’” Her life and ministry reflect that identity through her commitment to education, parish life, service, accompaniment, and the people whose faith has touched her along the way.