A Central Islip native has spent nearly a century in service to others through the Catholic church, and now, she holds a Guinness World Record to show for it. At 112 years old, Sister Francis Dominici Piscatella has officially been named the world’s oldest living nun.
A lifelong educator, Piscatella spent 52 years teaching in Catholic schools across New York, including Dominican Commercial High School in Queens and later in administrative roles at Molloy College in Rockville Centre. Since joining the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville in 1931 at just 17 years old, she has dedicated 94 years to her religious vocation, making her one of the longest-serving members of the church.
“I guess God doesn’t want me yet,” she joked. “He just wants me to hang around.”
The record comes two months after a Long Island man set the Guinness Record for most hours of golf played consecutively.
RELATED STORY: 14 Times LI Made History in Guinness World Records
Now living on the assisted-living floor of the Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse — the very same institution where she once taught and served until the age of 84 — Piscatella celebrated over a century of memories on her 112th birthday this Easter Sunday, surrounded by over 30 family members and a hearty Italian meal. Family members described her as just as lively as they have always remembered.
“It only takes a little prompting, and she talks up a storm,” said her nephew Phil Piscatella, with one of the sisters of the motherhood adding that she’s still, “as vibrant as can be.”
Despite enduring a broken arm in a car crash, a hip replacement, and a brain bleed from a fall over the past decade, Piscatella continues to maintain the resilient spirit that she has carried with her for over a century.
When asked by Guinness World Records about the secret to her longevity, she replied, “Teach until you die. You have to be a saint before you get to heaven.”
Born in 1913 in Central Islip as the second-oldest of seven children to Italian immigrants, Piscatella says her commitment to others was shaped by the everyday generosity she witnessed in her own home. Her father, a foreman on the Long Island Railroad, often brought homemade sandwiches for his co-workers, while her mother prepared meals for local nuns in the neighborhood.
“It was normal for me to help people,” she told Guiness World Records. “And I liked helping them.”
She was naturally drawn towards a religious life of service, but a devastating train accident that led to the amputation of her left arm at two years old nearly derailed that path. The traumatic injury left many convents hesitant to accept her, often facing rejection and doubts of her physical ability to fulfill the responsibilities of a nun.
But when a teaching vacancy opened at the Amityville Dominican Order in 1931, she seized the opportunity and accepted the position, kickstarting her long and impactful career as an educator.
“My mother wouldn’t let [my sisters] help me because ‘you’re not always going to have your sisters,’” she told Catholic News Service. “‘So, you better just shape up and do things for yourself.’”
“Nobody has ever had to help me,” she added. “When I went to the convent, I had to prove to my superiors that there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
Francis went on to earn both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. John’s University, focusing on mathematics.
“Well, I don’t want to brag, but I was a pretty good student in everything,” she said. “I was a good teacher because I was teaching myself too.”
Even in retirement, with nearly a century of service behind her, she remains an active presence in the community, attending daily Mass and participating in social activities at the Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse.
