Sister Raphaela Verena was born in 1969, in Egypt.
She earned her bachelor degree in Business Administration in 1991 from Alexandria University and her bachelor degree in Theology in 1996.
She served as a consecrated sister in Saint George Church in Alexandria (Sporting), Egypt from 1993 to 2003. In 2003 she started serving in the Diocese of California.
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, along with His Grace Bishop Serapion, consecrated her as a sister on August 28, 2004 for the Saint Verena Sisterhood.