Whether you attend liturgy at Assisi House in person or watch it via livestream, you will surely experience Sr. Pat Hinton’s musical talent. For the past three years, Sr. Pat has shared her gifts with our sisters at Assisi House as music and liturgy coordinator.

Far left, Sr. Pat Hinton’s chemistry class at West Catholic High School.

Pat grew up in York, Pennsylvania, with her parents, Bill and Catharine, and her older brother, Bill. She first met the Sisters of St. Francis in elementary school at St. Mary’s. Her grandfather was a sexton of the church, and her mother often chauffeured the sisters when they needed a ride. Pat also encountered the Sisters of St. Francis at York Catholic High School, one of six communities that staffed the school. Pat shared, “Somehow, the Franciscans tugged at my heart even though I had cousins in the Precious Blood community.” As a junior in high school, she remembers being asked at her annual retreat what she wanted to do with her life, and she said she wanted to be a sister. However, by senior year, having decided to become a nurse instead, she applied and was accepted to St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster, which the Sisters of St. Francis staffed. Still feeling the call to religious life, Pat entered the congregation the following September. Pat’s early dream before entering was to become a nurse and work in a clinic in Puerto Rico.

The congregation had other plans, however. Sr. Pat’s first mission was at Holy Ghost School in Bethlehem. There, she taught 5th and 6th grade and gave music lessons. She also taught for two years at St. Benedict’s in Philadelphia and at Immaculate Conception School in Trenton for two years. When there was a need for a science teacher at West Catholic High School in Philadelphia, the former English major and musician answered the call. While she was teaching at West Catholic, Sr. Pat went back to school to earn her Masters in Secondary School Science. During her years at West Catholic, she gained a love for basketball—cheering the team on as they went to the finals. After five years at West Catholic, Sr. Pat returned to her hometown to teach science at her alma mater, York Catholic. “I learned how different it was to teach my classmates kids,” she shared.

Sr. Pat participates
in the York Catholic High School team vs. staff basketball game.

Expecting that she would settle into a career as a high school science teacher, Sr. Pat was surprised by a ministry offer to do parish work at St. Joseph in York with the Capuchin Franciscans. She spoke of this time, saying, “What a wonderful experience it was. I was the liturgy coordinator and finally used my gift of music. It was here that I gained much knowledge in liturgy from the friars. I also had the opportunity to journey to Assisi with a small group from the parish.” Sr. Pat was also blessed with studying in Canterbury, England, and getting to do Franciscan studies in Italy.

With the dream of working in Hispanic ministry still in her heart, she packed her bags once again and was off to Chicago to Mundelein/Loyola University to earn a master’s in religious studies with a concentration in Hispanic Ministry. In addition to taking Spanish classes, Sr. Pat spent time in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to gain a better grasp of the language. She got further practice when she went to Venezuela to help out with Sr. Augustine.

Srs. Pat Hinton, Joanne Smith, Theresa
Elitz, and Elizabeth Conception worked together in the Dominican Republic.

After two years of study and mission trips, Sr. Pat was off to Springfield, Massachusetts, where she did pastoral work at Blessed Sacrament Parish for two years. Then she packed her bags again and began a new adventure in Tenares, La Vega, in the Dominican Republic. Here she helped to start a new mission with Sr. Theresa Elitz and two companions in ministry—Mary Beth Antonelli and Margie Sullivan. With Margie, Pat worked to begin music and faith formation for adults in many towns. Her time in Tenares was an eye-opening experience for Sr. Pat, and her love for the Hispanic people continued to grow. As she was finishing up her time in the Dominican Republic, her missionary heart led her to a new area of ministry—the Deep South.

Sr. Pat spent 11 years as an associate pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Montevallo, Alabama. During these years, she still managed to travel—answering a call to assist in Nicaragua and visiting Alaska. She said she had often thought of ministering in Alaska but shared, “Little planes scared me.” Next, she spent a year as a pastoral associate in Winston-Salem, and 11 years in Houston, Mississippi at Immaculate Heart of Mary Mission. She spent five years as a pastoral associate and another six years in Houston as a pastoral assistant, doing liturgy and music in Houston and Pontotoc, and working as a chaplain at North Mississippi Medical Center.

Celebrating a birthday with her dear friends,
Srs. Jeanne Nisley and Helen Budzik.

After over 20 years ministering in the South, Sr. Pat journeyed north to Reading to work as a volunteer chaplain at St. Joseph Medical Center and live with Sr. Rose Dvorak. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic had other ideas. Sr. Pat said, “After three months of ‘nothing to do,’ I read in Community News that there was a need for sisters to help at Assisi House.” Having stayed at Assisi House to recuperate from two knee replacements, she wanted to give back. So, Sr. Pat answered the call and went to Assisi House to help however she could. While she was volunteering, the position of coordinator of music and liturgy became available, and Pat applied for the job.

In her current role, Sr. Pat not only plans liturgies and funerals, and plays the music for both

When asked about her current ministry, Sr. Pat said, “I love the opportunities available in this ministry. I can use the gifts that God has given me for my community.” She also has the opportunity to delve into some spiritual areas beyond music and liturgy, such as working with the environment, including flowers. “I have learned,” said Sr. Pat, “that my mother had a better handle on this area than I.” In reflecting on the challenges of her ministry, she said, “This position comes with difficulties that I didn’t experience in parish work. One in particular is Sister Death.”

One of the best aspects of her job is that she gets to interact with her fellow sisters at Assisi House. Here she poses with Sr. Kathy Donovan.

In addition to traveling, Sr. Pat enjoys movies—especially science fiction—and watching The Chosen. Her other hobbies include playing the piano and ancestry investigation. She feels strongly connected to Mother Francis Bachmann and has tried to live “no risk, no gain” as a mantra. Reflecting on her many moves, she said, “Each mission made me appreciate the Franciscan part of me and allowed me to see how much God cared for me.” Sr. Pat wonders about what God has in store for the next chapter of her life. “The saying goes, ‘Join the Navy and see the world.’ It should say, ‘Join the Franciscans and see the world.’”

Colleen Collins