Sister St. Patrick was a powerful and visible presence at St. Francis Medical Center for more than 50 years. On her Diamond Jubilee in 1961, Monsignor John Vandegaer said to her, “the footsteps of Sister St. Patrick will echo in the halls of St. Francis for many years after you are gone, and the love of your hands and heart remain in grateful remembrance in the souls and hearts of multitudes blessed by your ministrations”.

Born in 1882 in County Kilkenny Ireland, she was the third of seven children. Her family knew from an early age that she wanted to be a nun.  The year was 1901, the 20th century was only an infant, and the very young Sister St. Patrick went to the Mother House in Calais, France for 2 ½ years. She was then sent to Berck, a seaside resort about 50 miles southeast of Calais, to nurse in a children’s hospital. World War I erupted across Europe in 1914, and for four years the hospital was taken over by the military. Sr. St. Patrick found herself nursing both French and Canadian soldiers. She often worked day and night with a constant turn over of soldiers from the war. Sr. was awarded a French decoration from the General there for her devoted and compassionate care to the soldiers.

In 1921, only eight years after St. Francis Sanatorium opened, Sister St. Patrick arrived in Monroe. While she was educated and worked as a nurse in Europe, she received her nursing degree from the La. State Nurses’ Board of Examiners in June 1923.
Her early responsibilities included First Floor Supervision of the three-floor hospital. Malaria plagued many railroad workers at that time with many hospitalized, and Sister St. Patrick was in charge of the care for the Missouri-Pacific employees. Recorded accounts noted, “Sister St. Patrick was idolized by those men because she gave them devoted care; the rich and the poor received the same diligent attention”. Responsible for the emergency room, she was remembered for her vigilant eye and kind heart, with one recorded comment of her Emergency Room oversight, ”how many grieved mothers, fathers, and children did you console, dear Sr. St. Patrick…only God holds the exact account of them”. She also supervised 3rd floor, then called the annex, as well as the 6th floor of the newer building, which has maintained her name throughout the years.

In 1951 she celebrated her Golden Jubilee, 50 years of service, as a Franciscan Missionary of Our Lady. In 1961 she celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. Sister Anne Marie, the hospital administrator then, recalls how Sister St. Patrick “had the human touch...a genuine interest in the well being of all people and a keen judgment of nature”.

It was on 6th floor of St. Francis Medical Center where Sister St. Patrick worked and later lived as she grew older and more ill. She remained there until her death in 1977 at 95 years of age. Today her picture adorns the lobby of St. Francis Medical Center; the portrait was a gift to her from Governor and Mrs. James A. Noe. The beautiful 45-year-old statue of St. Patrick himself was a gift to Sr. St. Patrick on her Golden Jubilee from Mr. and Mrs. Murray Hudson. The beautifully adorned statue has been carefully relocated and placed in our facility.