Donor Story
Sister Benita Repasky, late in her religious life, felt she had a calling to minister to the poor in the Shenango Valley.
More than 35 years later, the Prince of Peace Center that she founded has grown tremendously. It has become a vital community resource, working to break the cycle of poverty by offering job training, money management, parenting, life skills training, as well as food, shelter and clothing to support adults and youth.
Sister Benita’s legacy was honored and strengthened in 2018 when the Board of Directors at Prince of Peace Center created an endowment in her name. “This fund plants the seeds of faith, hope and love that will bear fruit in the form of financial stability for the Prince of Peace Center for generations to come,” explained Joseph Flecher, Executive Director.
Sometimes a random conversation can become much more. That's true of an encounter in a Farrell thrift shop more than 30 years ago.
Msgr. Edward Zeitler, then pastor of Notre Dame Parish in Hermitage, stopped by the Mission Thrift Store to visit Sister Benita Repasky, founder of the Prince of Peace Center. Passing through the store, he couldn't help but notice a brand-new leather jacket for sale.
"Sister, that's a really nice coat!" he exclaimed. The diminutive nun looked up squarely at the pastor towering above her and answered, "Father, don't the poor deserve nice things?"
Msgr. Zeitler, who passed away in 2017, recounted that story often, describing it not only as a defining moment when he realized how fully invested Sister Repasky was in helping people in need but also as a valuable lesson in compassion.
"I always thought that kind of summed up Sister Benita," said Gretchen Wagner, a long-time parishioner and Music Director at Notre Dame. "She might have been small, but she was mighty. She was never intimidated by anyone or anything because she was so strengthened by prayer."
Sister Repasky entered into eternal life in 1999, but her spirit remains very much a guiding force at the agency she founded in 1983. So, it was not surprising when the center's Board of Directors recently established an endowment in her honor.
Lean on Me
"In establishing the new Sister Benita Repasky Endowment, the Prince of Peace Board of Directors hopes to plant the seeds of faith, hope and love that will bear much fruit in the form of financial stability for the Prince of Peace Center for generations to come," explained Joseph Flecher, Executive Director.
Flecher recounted how Sister Repasky, late in her religious life, felt she had a calling to minister to the poor in the Shenango Valley. With many people affected by the closing of local steel mills in the 1970s and 1980s, that calling was cemented when she visited Farrell for the first time and saw a rainbow appear over the city.
Flecher explained, "She heard the words, 'You are starting out upon a ministry, the foundations of which no man has laid. It shall be a path to holiness, a way of miracles and a life of glory. Lean on Me and trust Me wholly'."
Honoring and Strengthening a Legacy
More than 35 years later, the Prince of Peace Center has grown tremendously to become a vital community resource. Tony Paglia, vice president of the organization's board of directors, says Sister Repasky left a profound legacy.
The center is now the top social service agency in Mercer County, providing food, shelter, and clothing through a number of targeted programs. Going a step further, the center works to break the cycle of poverty by offering job training, money management, parenting, life skills training, as well as other programs to support adults and youth.
"Sister affected a lot of people from this area, people of all faiths," Paglia noted. "She was one of those unforgettable personalities, not only if you met her but also in what she was able to do, starting from nothing. The Center has become an ecumenical movement supported by churches of all denominations. It was natural to name an endowment in her honor. Her presence is still felt."
Sister Repasky's true legacy is in the thousands of lives that have been changed for the better. That legacy is now honored and strengthened with an endowment in the Catholic Foundation of Northwest Pennsylvania. The "path to holiness, way of miracles" leads on.
Donate to the Sister Benita Repasky Endowment
Help support the Prince of Peace Center in Farrell, PA.
“This fund plants the seeds of faith, hope and love that will bear fruit in the form of financial stability for the Prince of Peace Center for generations to come.”