Age 85
Sister Patricia Collins was a Sister of Mercy for 68 years. She was an educator, administrator, apartment manager, and health care assistant.
Sister Patricia attended St. Teresa Elementary School and graduated from Mount Mercy Academy June 1953. Having been taught by the Sisters of Mercy for 12 years and with her oldest sister a member of the Mercy Community, Sister Patricia answered God’s call to become a Sister of Mercy, entering July 16, 1953. She received a B.A. in English from Niagara University and earned an M.A. in Education at Buffalo State University of New York.
Sister Patricia’s ministry in education as teacher and principal spanned many years and places. Her ministry in Buffalo schools included St. John the Evangelist, St. William, St. Stephen, St. Monica and St. Stephen, St. Brigid, Holy Family, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Lake View), St. Martin and St. Agatha. Her ministry in education also brought her to Albion, LeRoy, Jamestown, and Niagara Falls. She touched the lives of countless students and their families, and her inherited Irish wit endeared her to all.
In 1989, Sister Patricia accepted the position as director of McAuley House. This ministry, sponsored by the Mercy Community, reached out to homeless and troubled young women. She later served as associate manager of the Julianna Apartments.
As coordinator of Visitation and Communication on the Mercy Center Health Care Unit the sisters appreciated Sister Patricia’s friendly, caring manner and sense of humor.
Her ring motto expresses well the whole of her life, “All for Jesus.”