Sister Rene Celebrates Five Decades in Felician Sisterhood

said she was happy from the moment she left home. 

Procopio, a Felician Sister who serves as director of the , arrived in Moon Township as a 13-year-old in 1958 to attend , which at the time was an all-girls aspirational school for students looking to join the Felician Sisterhood.

The Mt. Carmel, PA native moved across the state with one goal in mind—joining the ranks of the sisterhood that inspired her as a grade-school student.

"I remember being in third or fourth grade and the (Felecian Sister) teachers were just so happy," Procopio said. "And I just wanted to be that happy too. It was very inspirational." 

It was a decision that her family embraced, though it wasn't a journey that came easily. 

"My father was physically ill after I left for a week," she said. "It was difficult to move so far away. I was always daddy's girl." 

Procopio graduated from OLSH in 1962, earning her black veil through the order three years later. 

This month, she celebrates her 50th year in religious service, a milestone recognized in official proclamations from state Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Moon, and former state Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon. 

The presented Procopio with the proclamation at its July meeting. 

The Mooncrest Center director has spent much of the past five decades dedicated to education. She studied at LaRoche College and the University of Pittsburgh and served as the principal of St. Germaine's in Bethel Park for more than a decade. 

It was while she was recuperating from hip surgery in 2001 that she was asked to head a new neighborhood children’s program in Mooncrest.

The inaugural Mooncrest after-school program enrolled just six children in 2002. Now nearly 40 attend sessions regularly. 

"The children have always been my focus," Procopio said. "I'd always wanted to be a teacher. And that's why I became an administrator—I had a vision and a goal for making the school better." 

Procopio's 50th anniversary in the convent comes just as the Mooncrest Center looks to open its and launch a series of new neighborhood initiatives for Mooncrest residents. 

The center will celebrate the new addition in an Aug. 22 ribbon-cutting ceremony. New health and wellness classes for Mooncrest adults will kick off on Sept. 22, Procopio said. 

Felician Sisters fundraised more than $100,000 to complete the building addition. 

"It's very rewarding," Procopio said. "It took two years to raise the $120,000 (for the addition) and when we started the center in 2002 we had six children. And so now, it's just overwhelming."