Saint Benedict’s Monastery
St. Joseph, Minn.
May 20, 1927 – July 18, 2023
The Eucharist of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at the Sacred Heart Chapel, Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minn., for Sister Mary (Frances Joan) Pattison, who died on July 18, 2023, at Saint Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud, Minn. Burial will be in the monastery cemetery. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Benson Funeral Home. Friends may call at Saint Scholastica Convent on Monday, July 24, for a Prayer Service at 3 p.m. followed by visitation until 4:15 p.m., or for a Vigil Prayer Service at 7 p.m. at Saint Benedict’s Monastery. Visitation continues at 9 a.m. until the time of the funeral on Tuesday, July 25.
Frances Joan Pattison was born May 20, 1927, to Francis and Theresa (Prueher) Pattison in Eau Claire, Wis. She attended St. Mary’s Grade School and Durand Public High School in Durand, Wis., and graduated from Saint Benedict’s High School in St. Joseph, Minn. In August 1946, she entered Saint Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, was received into the novitiate in June 1947, made first monastic profession on July 11, 1948, and perpetual profession on July 11, 1951. She celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1997, her 60th anniversary of profession in 2007, and her 75th anniversary in 2023.
S. Mary received bachelor’s degrees in music from the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph and from Viterbo College in La Crosse, Wis., and a master’s degree in religious studies from Webster College in St. Louis, Mo. She also studied at Fordham University in New York and Boston College in Boston, Mass.
Following profession, S. Mary ministered mainly in Wisconsin and became a member of Saint Bede Monastery, Eau Claire. She served in music education at St. Thomas More in La Crosse and at St. Mary’s School in Richland Center, Wis. She taught high school religion at Our Lady of Victory Academy at Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and Saint Bede High School in Eau Claire and served in pastoral ministry at St. Matthew’s Parish in Wausau, Wis., and St. Olaf’s Parish in Eau Claire. At St. Thomas More Parish, La Crosse, S. Mary served as superior and as subprioress for the religious community at Saint Bede Monastery, as well as being liturgist and organist at Saint Bede Monastery.
In 2010, Saint Bede Monastery merged with Saint Benedict’s Monastery and S. Mary moved back to Minnesota with her community. She lived at Saint Benedict’s Monastery until 2016 when she moved to Saint Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud, Minn., continuing a ministry of prayer and community living and helping wherever help was needed. Following a decline in her health, S. Mary moved to Saint Benedict’s Senior Community, St. Cloud, in 2021, where she resided until shortly before her death.
In addition to the sisters in her Benedictine Community, S. Mary is survived by her sister, Margaret (+Edward) Hels, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers, James (Mary Ann) and Henry (Gayle), and her sisters, Catherine (Hector) Mayheu, Mary (Joseph) McKinnon, Patricia (Lawrence) Hoffman, and Rose (James) Daugherty.
Please direct memorial gifts to the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict Outreach Ministries.