Sister Rosemarie
Bartnicki, OSF

Originally from Shenandoah, Pa., Sister Rosemarie Bartnicki entered the School Sisters of St. Francis from St. Stephen Church in 1954, and professed first vows at Mount Assisi Convent in Pittsburgh in 1955. She celebrates 70 years in religious life in 2025.

Formerly known as Sister Raymond, she was drawn to the community by the Sisters with whom she interacted at her home parish. “I always wanted to be a Sister because I admired the ministry of all the Sisters in my hometown of Shenandoah,” Sister recalls. “I felt that this was my vocation.”

Over seven decades as an educator, Sister taught and served as principal at parish grade schools in the Pennsylvania towns of Ellsworth, Emmaus, Hellertown, Northampton and Bethlehem, as well as in the New Jersey communities of Jersey City, Clifton, New Milford, Boonton and Guttenberg. She also served as principal of Christ the Teacher School in Fort Lee, N.J., for 22 years.

Today, Sister Rosemarie volunteers at St. Ignatius Loyola School in West Lawn, Pa., where her continued involvement in the school community provides plenty for which to be thankful.

“I treasure all the people who have touched my life with their faith and love and who have allowed me to touch theirs,” Sister says. “There is no better place to be than where I am. With the grace of God, I will continue to do His work.”