Sister Patricia L. (Chrysostom) Fitzgerald, BVM
Sister Patricia L. Fitzgerald, BVM, (Chrysotom), 90, died Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, at Mount Carmel Bluffs, Dubuque, Iowa.
Visitation and the Rite of Committal for Natural Burial were celebrated Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Burial was in the Mount Carmel Cemetery. Sharing of Memories and a Memorial Mass were celebrated Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. All services can be viewed at: https://stream.prestosports.com/bvmsisters.
Sister Pat was born Dec. 29, 1933, in South Bend, Ind., to Lawrence and Lorine (Rivard) Fitzgerald. She entered the BVM congregation on Sept 8, 1952, from St. Francis Xavier Parish, Phoenix. She professed first vows on March 19, 1955, and final vows on July 16, 1960.
Sister Pat ministered as an elementary teacher at Our Lady of the Angels in Chicago; Annunciation in Kansas City, Mo.; All Saints in Tucson, Ariz.; and Our Lady of Lourdes in Tujunga, Calif. She was an artist and taught art at St. Mary HS, St Joseph, St. Malachy and the Austin Career Education Center in Chicago; St. Eulalia in Maywood, Ill.; and at the Oak Park Conservatory in Oak Park, Ill. She also worked as an independent massage therapist and as an office manager for the Immigrant Child Advocacy Project (ICAP).
“Pat approached life enthusiastically with great hope for the future. Even though she was an introvert, she had the courage of her convictions and was not afraid to articulate them. She was deeply concerned about the wellness of the earth and of its people, especially the disenfranchised. Pat was an explorer willing to take risks, yet always striving for perfection. She had the ability to integrate her creative intuitiveness with clarity of vision. She was a woman of prayer who lived humbly and faithfully.” (Eulogy).
She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister Jeanne Marie Price, and a brother Kenneth Fitzgerald. She is survived by a sister-in-law Margaret Fitzgerald, nieces, nephews, and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 71 years.
Memorials may be given to Sisters of Charity, BVM, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003 or online at https://www.bvmsisters.org/support_donate.cfm.
Watch Memorial Mass and Sharing of Memories Download Eulogy Download Sharing of Memories
Happy memories dancing with Pat who was a leader of Dances of Universal Peace and learning from her how to be courageous. She had profound insights and shared them. She was creative and fun and always pushed on the boundaries into wider perspectives.