Sister Patricia Redmond, MM

Born: January 24, 1932
Entered: September 6, 1950
Died: April 3, 2025

At 2:40 AM on April 3, 2025, just before the break of dawn, Pat Redmond’s long and externally silent journey home to God came to a peace-filled end. We, her family and friends, stand in awe before the mystery of her many years of what appeared to be a kind of death, but we cannot know the inner movement of the mind and heart. Influenced by her marine biologist brother, Jim, Pat was always fascinated throughout her life with the sea creature, the chambered nautilus; the poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes captures the day that Pat: “stretched in her last-found home, and knew the old no more.”

Cecelia Joyce Redmond was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 24, 1932, to Matthew and Elizabeth True Redmond. She had one brother, James, who has predeceased her; her niece, Jill Buschmann, is her nearest relative. Pat graduated from Holy Family grammar school (1945) and from Seton High school (1949), both in Cincinnati. She studied one semester in Mt. St. Joseph College, leaving in February 1950 to enter the Congregation at Maryknoll, New York on September 6th of that year.  She was animated by mission activities in school, and saw her choice of Maryknoll as a way to offer others the chance to share her life of faith. Pat’s own words and humor clarify her name as she wrote; “The name Cecelia was added by the priest who baptized me, NEVER used; I was always called Joyce. Since there is no Spanish version of Joyce, I kept the name in the Congregation of Patricia (Pat). After I die, probably all this will make little difference to me.”

After graduation from Maryknoll Teachers College in 1955, Pat was assigned to Bolivia studying Spanish in Cochabamba before beginning her years of teaching and leadership in various schools in Lima (1956), Montero (1959), and Cochabamba (1962). In each place, Pat was a treasured gift to the schools—an exceptionally creative teacher and a wise and kind principal. With Carol Hassey and Judy Noone, Pat was assigned in 1970 to Colonia Hardeman, a village of people who were relocated because of flooding—no water, no electricity, mud floors—monkeys, macaws and army ants shared their space. Pat’s brother Jim, his wife Norie and their children, Cleve and Jill, visited Hardeman—what an experience—a tough place, but treasured memories!

The next phase of Pat’s life called forth her leadership skills, first in the Office of Social Concerns, then her service on the Central Governing Board beginning January 6, 1984. As General Secretary, her precise mind and attention to detail was a source of amazement and just a tiny bit of irritation from the rest of the Board. She was wise and compassionate and could defuse tension with humor, or even a clever cartoon.

When her term ended in 1991, Pat discerned her future which culminated by her writing to her loved Bolivian region: “It has become clear—as anything can be through my muddling efforts to hear what God is saying—that I am going to end up somewhere else. I am signing up for Papua, New Guinea. It’s exciting and scary.” She had always loved the book: SAVAGE PAPUA—was this prescient? Pat and Peggy Dawson and Helen Gleason started in Vanimo, Papua. It was a challenging and rewarding mission–pastoral work, vocational training and pre-school classes filled their days. Something Pat wrote captures the “otherness” of the place and people. Showing a movie, dubbed in pidgin, of the life of Christ, “Scenes of the passion brought on gasps and tears, followed by various sounds of joy at the Resurrection—talk about audience participation! Then, at the end, one man asked with wonder–How were they able to have a camera when all these things happened?”  How indeed.  Theological issues with the Bishop, and the age and health of the sisters brought the mission to a close in 1995. Pat wrote; as we left, we realized the truth that many of us know well: “God was there long before any missionaries arrived.”

Called again to the Latin world, Pat returned in 1996 to pastoral work and women’s formation in Guatemala until her return to the Center in 2006. For a time, she worked in Creative Productions in the development department. But, gradually, Pat’s fine mind moved into the illness that brought her to the Eden community in June 2012.

Even though Pat has left us, her art and her humor and her calligraphy remain with us—from bumper stickers about HIV-AIDS in Guatemala, to many signs and names around this house, to elegant signs in our Watch Hill house with directions on how to turn on the water heater. We remember too, with varying degrees of affection, that she loved animals and connected with them, especially cats!

We return to the chambered nautilus from Holmes as our farewell:

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, As the swift seasons roll
‘til thou at length are free, Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!

We welcome our presider Maryknoll Father Edward Shellito, MM.