Statement in Honor of Sister Patrick Curran
June 27, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and work of Mercy Sister Patrick Curran, who died peacefully on June 10, 2002. Sister Patrick was an inspiration and a friend to so many, and we were blessed to have her with us. Her entire life was an act of worship, and we will cherish her memory forever.
Sister Patrick's life embodied a Franciscan spirituality of compassion for and solidarity with the poor. Throughout her life, Sister Patrick devoted herself unconditionally to serving her sisters and brothers who were poor and elderly. She worked as a young nun in Harlem and East Los Angeles, in residential care facilities in Denver and St. Paul, and in elderly and homeless organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Having spent 20 years with the Little Sisters of the Poor, including several years at St. Ann's home in San Francisco, Sister Patrick Curran transferred to the Sisters of Mercy in Burlingame in 1984. She spent 12 years as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Mercy Retirement and Care Center in Oakland before accepting a position as Executive Director of the St. Anthony Foundation, a homeless service and advocacy agency in the Tenderloin of San Francisco.
St. Anthony Foundation is best known for its Free Dining Room that serves an
average of 2,000 meals each day. It also has a dozen other programs that serve
homeless and low-income people.
Her leadership guided St. Anthony Foundation through important times in its
history and development. She distinguished herself by her ability to bring together
very talented people -staff, volunteers and donors - to provide quality service
to St. Anthony's guests. She was steadfast in her efforts and once remarked,
"You can't give up hope. I see poverty but I see more hope. At St. Anthony's
we have hundreds of young people coming to work. The young people are a sign
of hope for the future."
Her work in the Bay Area and around the nation was recognized in 2000 when Archbishop William Levada presented her with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross, an award bestowed by the Pope on lay persons and clergy who have given exceptional service to the Church. In 2001, she received an honorary degree from the University of San Francisco School of Nursing for her years of service to the sick and aging.
It is with great personal sadness and recognition of their loss that I extend
my deepest sympathy to her mother Bridget Curran, her entire family, and to
her religious community, the Sisters of Mercy of Burlingame. To all who loved
Sister Patrick, thank you for sharing her with us and for giving her so much
happiness. I am proud to join my constituents in thanking and praising Sister
Patrick for her dedication to the elderly and poor of California and of this
nation.