Riley, Sister Mary Leo Anne (Patricia Ann), 1933-
Biographical
Sister M. Leo Anne (Patricia Ann Riley) was born in Colusa, California, January 16, 1933, daughter of Leo J. Riley and Anne (Cooney) Riley. She entered the Congregation on September 6, 1951. She received the Habit August 5, 1952, and made Final Profession August 15, 1957. Sister was a Catholic elementary school teacher and principal for the first 24 years following her initial profession of vows in 1954. She taught at St. Matthew's School, San Mateo, California (1954-1956); Immaculate Conception School, Sacramento, California (1956-1962); and St. Pius School, Redwood City, California (1962-1965). She was the principal of St. Stanislaus School, Modesto, California (1965-1972); St. Pius School, Redwood City (1972-1975); Bishop Glass School, Salt Lake City, Utah (1976-1977); and St. Anne's School, Las Vegas, Nevada (1977-1978). She was councilor of the western region from 1978 to 1980. Between 1980 and 1989, Sister Patricia ministered in several parishes in Utah and California. One assignment in particular had her traveling to different parishes with Sister Eileen Dewsnup, CSC, throughout southern Utah. Together, they helped meet the needs of parishes, whether that be providing music for special Masses in churches that had no organist, teaching religious education classes and instructing others how to teach these classes, or operating a traveling bookstore that carried religious literature. Their ministry caught the imagination of those in southern Utah, with some local newspapers giving them nicknames such as "the flying nuns." She was the director of temporarily incorporated sisters from 1990 to 1995, and served on five councils throughout the 1990's and early 2000's. Her campus ministry began in 1993 with her two-year assignment as a sister in residence at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, where she offered prayer experiences for students and served the college's residence life office. Sister Patricia was the rector of Breen-Phillips Hall at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, from 1995 to 1998. She was the director of campus ministry at Skaggs Catholic Center, Draper, Utah, from 1998 to 2001, where she offered retreats for parents, staff, and students at Juan Diego High School, Draper, as well as spiritual leadership when the need arose. She also assisted in the high school's administration, providing a spiritual component to curriculum and program planning. Sister Patricia's parish ministry continued from 2001 to 2005 at St. Marguerite's Parish, Tooele, Utah. In addition to serving as a pastoral assistant, she trained liturgical ministers and visited families in their homes. She directed deacon formation for the Diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah (2005-2010), before moving to Saint Catherine by the Sea Convent, Ventura, California, to be the convent's coordinator in 2010. She lived in community with the Holy Cross sisters in Ventura for five years, and then became the mission specialist at Saint Alphonsus Hospital, Boise, Idaho. After three years at the hospital, she transitioned to a ministry of prayer and presence, and moved to Saint Mary's, Notre Dame, Indiana. Since 2018, she had been visiting patients and accompanying those were who terminal at the Holy Cross Long-Term Nursing Care Center, South Bend, Indiana. She also provided spiritual direction to Holy Cross novices and drove sisters to doctor appointments.
Occupations
Places
- California (state) (Place of Birth)