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<p>SWOYERSVILLE &#8212; As Carol Aten listens to news reports about Hurricane Maria hammering Puerto Rico, she worries about her sister, Sister Joelle Mrozoski, a Bernardine Franciscan who is assistant principal of the Sacred Heart School on the island.</p><p>Praying for her sister&#8217;s safety helps her stay calm, Aten said with a sigh. &#8220;That&#8217;s all I can do.&#8221;</p><p>When she hears that the island lost 100 percent of its electrical power and 95 percent of its cell phone service earlier this week, Aten understands the likely reason why her sister can&#8217;t call or send an email to let her know she&#8217;s OK.</p><p>Still, she is so eager to hear or read that message, it&#8217;s difficult to stay calm. This is her little sister, after all, the little girl, almost 10 years younger, who she used to walk home from kindergarten. That may have been 60 years ago, but the big sister still feels protective.</p><p>&#8220;The last I heard from her was an email that said they were preparing for the worst,&#8221; said Aten, who has visited her sister twice during the two decades Sister Joelle has been stationed in Rio Piedras, a riverside community that has been incorporated into San Juan.</p><p>&#8220;Oh, it&#8217;s beautiful there,&#8221; Aten said. But she frets that the river, which looks so appealing when it stays within its banks, could add to the danger during a hurricane.</p><p>Aten and her sister, who was known as Ann Marie as a child, grew up in Wilkes-Barre with another sister, Betty, and two brothers.</p><p>&#8220;We all graduated from Marymount High School,&#8221; Aten said, adding that by the time Ann Marie was in high school, she knew she had a vocation to become a nun.</p><p>Ann Marie took the name Sister Joelle, which combines the names of her parents, the late Joseph and Elizabeth Mrozoski. She taught school in Allentown and in the Wyoming Valley before being transferred to Puerto Rico.</p><p>Since her sister has been there, Aten said, she has sometimes reached out to the Northeastern Pennsylvania community for contributions.</p><p>Area residents have generously made donations to outfit the young members of a baseball team Sister Joelle wanted to reward for getting good grades, Aten said, and church groups have also sent rosaries for her to distribute.</p><p>Now, Aten would be so grateful to anyone who would pray for the safety of Sister Joelle and other people who were in the hurricane&#8217;s path. &#8220;That would be so nice,&#8221; she said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Carol Aten, of Swoyersville, holds a family photo that shows her with her sisters Betty, at left, and Sister Joelle, at right. Sister Joelle is a Bernadine Franciscan stationed in Puerto Rico, and Aten is anxious to hear from her in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_worriedsister1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Carol Aten, of Swoyersville, holds a family photo that shows her with her sisters Betty, at left, and Sister Joelle, at right. Sister Joelle is a Bernadine Franciscan stationed in Puerto Rico, and Aten is anxious to hear from her in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_worriedsister2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sister Joelle Mrozoski is assistant principal of the Sacred Heart School in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_worriedsister2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Sister Joelle Mrozoski is assistant principal of the Sacred Heart School in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Swoyersville woman anxious to hear from sister in Puerto Rico