Sister Pat shared the light of her baptism generously, through language, communication and teaching. 

Sister Patricia Noone, formerly Sister Maura Catherine, was born March 11, 1939, in the Bronx, one of two daughters (twins) of Patrick and Maureen Maguire Noone. She attended Saint Paul the Apostle Elementary School and Cathedral High School, both in Manhattan, and graduated from the College of New Rochelle with a BA in English before entering the Sisters of Charity of New York on September 8, 1960. She later earned an MA in English from Hunter College and a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from City University of New York.

Forty-nine of Sister Patricia’s fifty-five years of active ministry were dedicated to teaching English at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx. After one year as a student at Hunter College, she entered the English Department of the College in 1964 and remained until 2013. During her years there, she moved from Instructor of English to Assistant Professor to Associate Professor to Chair of the Department, and then Professor of English. The Department also evolved and grew with the addition of courses she helped introduce, such as women’s studies. In 1977, Sister Patricia authored the book, Mary for Today, which received acclaimed reviews.

Upon leaving the College in 2013, the Congregation asked Sister Patricia to chair a committee to write the history of the Sisters of Charity of New York from 1996 to 2020. The record of these last twenty-four years was added to the three-volume history (1809 – 1959) written by Sister Marie de Lourdes Walsh and the two-volume history (1960 – 1996) written by Sister Mary Elizabeth Earley. Sister Patricia continued as editor of this work into her retirement and brought it to completion in 2021.

During the years Sister Patricia taught in the College, she contributed her knowledge and skills to streamlining communications both for the Congregation and outside audiences. The original internal publication, Newsletter of the Sisters of Charity, produced under Sister Patricia’s supervision for many years, evolved over fifty-five years into today’s FOCUS. She was a member of the Communications Commission in 1985 which produced CloseUp, a newsletter for external audiences and published today as VISION magazine with a wide distribution.

In addition to her gifts as a brilliant teacher, her keen sense of history, and editorial skills used in a variety of publications, Sister Patricia’s other abilities included being a specialized cook of a perfect meal, completing the New York Times puzzle each day in pen in one try, and maintaining a sharp focus on tasks needed. Quiet and reserved in manner, she always expressed deference to the abilities and intellect of her twin sister, Katherine, with whom she shared a unique love and bond. Over the many years Sister Patricia experienced failing health, she never complained and only showed patience with the medical procedures provided for her quality of life.

Sister Patricia, we rejoice with you now as your loving God calls you home to the fullness of eternal life. Be at peace.