Patricia Millen was working in Manhattan and living in a 21st floor apartment when she came to know the Sisters of St. Francis through her cousin Carol Zurlo. Sr. Carol’s ministry then was as a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Sr. Pat recalls, “My siblings and I got in the car and drove from North Jersey to visit her. That’s the first time I met the Sisters of St. Francis.”

Sr. Pat continues the story: “The next time, Carol was studying at the Catholic University and living in the convent at the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Parish in Northwest Washington, D.C. I was working for a news magazine. We were doing a series on the food industry, whose main offices were in D.C. So I would come down for a Friday meeting and stay with the sisters for the weekend. As I got to know the sisters, their joy was obvious. Sr. Betty Kane was the convent superior, and she was excited about what was going on in the parish school and the province. My goal had been to make more money and get a penthouse apartment, travel, see the world. But I returned to New York saying to myself, there’s more to life than money. I was moved by the sisters’ response to those who are poor: the sisters had such a great spirit, and they were making a difference. So I had ongoing conversations with Betty Kane, who would eventually sponsor me.”  READ