Age 95
Sister Mary “Helen” Lucina Sokira was a Sister of Mercy for 70 years. Helen received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Medaille (former Mt. St. Joseph) College, a Master of Science from Nazareth College, and a Master of Arts from Niagara University.
Prior to entering Religious Life, Helen worked for a newspaper and was part of a secretarial staff at a local company. She felt the desire to be of service to students, to grow in her love for God, and to express her love for creation through poetry.
On November 11, 1952, Helen entered the Buffalo Community of the Sisters of Mercy. She looked forward to furthering her education and sharing her knowledge with the students in the schools where the Sisters of Mercy ministered.
Helen received the religious name Sister Mary Lucina and for about twenty years taught in various Catholic Schools in Western New York. South Buffalo Schools included St. Bonaventure, Holy Family, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ambrose and St. Brigid. Other schools included St. Mary of the Angels, Olean, Our Lady of the Rosary, Niagara Falls and St. Mary, Holly, New York.
The Community then requested that she be an Administrative Assistant to the Supervisor of Schools and the Hospital Coordinator. In addition to these ministries, Sister Mary Lucina had over three hundred poems printed in various publications and authored two books of poetry.
Sister M. Lucina’s ring motto, “Before all things have charity” expressed her desire to “be there for others.” “Hope and gratitude deepen each day, the water rises. We sail toward God, our boats are unsinkable.