Sister Carola was born in 1886 in Hochsal, Baden, Germany. She received her nursing certificate from St. Vincent Hospital in Cologne, Germany in 1911. She entered the Pallottine Missionary Society and made her first profession of vows in 1913. That year, Sister Carola traveled to the United States to serve as administrator of Sacred Heart Hospital in Richwood, West Virginia.
She received her second registered nurse certificate from Sacred Heart in 1919 and became a naturalized citizen on May 17, 1922, in Summersville, West Virginia. In 1924, she led the eight Pallottine Missionary Sisters who opened the original 35-bed St. Mary's Hospital in Huntington in an abandoned boys’ school. Sister Carola served as the first administrator of St. Mary’s from 1924 to 1939 when she left for St. Joseph's Hospital in Buckhannon, West Virginia. Sister Carola returned to St. Mary's as administrator in 1945 until her retirement in 1959.
Sister Carola’s strong will and gentle manner enabled her to work entirely for the needs of the ill and injured. The St. Mary's Medical Center of today is a testament to not only Sister Carola's unflinching dedication to ensuring its growth and success, but to the sacrifice of the Pallottine Missionary Sisters whose mission is for all citizens of the region to have access to quality medical care regardless of their ability to pay.
