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DEC 06 LBW
Sister Mary
Patricia Fallon, OSB comes from a large Irish family. Her
parents came over from Ireland in the early 1900’s. Sister’s
childhood years were greatly influenced by her family’s
friendship and respect for the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. She recalls: “I can’t remember a time that I
didn’t want to be a religious when I grew up”.
A transfer
to Our Lady of Lourdes high school in Chicago introduced Sister
Patricia to the Benedictines. She struggled with the decision
of which religious community to join, but after a visit to
Lisle, she entered at the age of seventeen. She was anxious to
learn the Czech language as that was the predominant cultural
background at Sacred Heart Monastery and was spoken by the
Sisters in community. Sister Patricia embraced this challenge
and the rest of the community enjoyed participating in her
education. Ultimately, the Czech language was dropped and the
community moved to communicating in English.
Sister
Patricia is a lifelong educator. She taught elementary grades
in Illinois, Wisconsin and Texas and then moved to secondary
education at Sacred Heart Academy. She ultimately took on the
role of principal as several Chicago schools. Now, in her
‘semi-retirement’ years, Sister Patricia serves as
Administrative Assistant to the principal at St. Joan of Arc in
Lisle.
Sister
Patricia has served on a variety of local boards and enjoys her
work with the Lisle Heritage Society. At the monastery, she
serves as Secretary of the Monastic Council. Her hobbies
include walking and reading. She loves the Old and New
Testament and is a fan of authors Henri Nouwen, Fulton J. Sheen,
Belva Plain and Rosamunde Pilcher.
Sister
Patricia looks forward to the day that she can move back into a
permanent room in the renovated monastery and participate daily
in community life. As one of twelve siblings, Sister Patricia
is enormously proud of her large and loving family: 32 nieces
and nephews, 79 great and 13 great-grand nieces and nephews.
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