Sister Patricia Mulvaney, CSC/ (Sister M. Peter James)

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Sister Patricia Mulvaney, CSC

December 24, 1928 ~ August 13, 2018

Sister Patricia Mulvaney, CSC, died August 13, 2018, in Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, Calif.

Sister Patricia’s zeal for Holy Cross may have derived from her grandfather, Richard Seidel, a music professor at Saint Mary’s College (1890 to the 1930s) hired by Mother M. Pauline (O’Neill), CSC. Clara Seidel and Vincent Mulvaney were her parents. Her aunt was Sister M. Richardine (Seidel), CSC; her older sister, Sister Mary Mulvaney, CSC, (Sister M. Vincent Clare), died in 2001. Her younger sister, Sister Elsbeth Mulvaney, CSC, ministers at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise.

Patricia Mulvaney applied to the Sisters of the Holy Cross after her first year as a nursing student in Denver, Colorado in July 1948. Having visited Saint Mary’s, she wrote Mother Una (Garrity) that she was so eager to enter the Congregation immediately, “that I don’t know how I will wait the next six months.” She received the holy habit a year later and her name in religion, Sister Peter James. She entered the Congregation from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Her initial profession of vows was made on August 15, 1951.

Sister Peter James completed her registered nursing degree in 1954 at Holy Cross Hospital School of Nursing, Salt Lake City, and her Bachelor of Science at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, in 1955. By 1960 she finished her Master of Science in nursing administration from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., while teaching nurses at Saint Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, Idaho.

From 1960 to 1963 she served as director of the School of Nursing at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City. She served as administrator of Saint Alphonsus until 1972, relocating the hospital from downtown Boise to its present site.  

In 1972 she returned to her baptismal name when her ministry changed. Sister Patricia Mulvaney served as a councilor for the sisters’ health region, then was elected as their Western Regional Superior (1975-1981), assuming leadership for the sisters not only in health care but also in education, pastoral and justice ministries.

Sister Patricia spent her years out of office researching geriatrics and managing the building of a new retirement facility for the sisters at Saint Catherine by the Sea in Ventura, California. In 1987 Sister Patricia chaired the Holy Cross Health System and transitioned into the role of president and CEO of HCHS until April 1989.

She was elected that summer as General Councilor for Retirement until 1994. After a sabbatical, Sister served five years as the superior at Saint Mary’s Convent at the motherhouse. In 2000, Saint Alphonsus Medical Center welcomed Sister Patricia back to Boise. While there, Sister Patricia established a palliative care program and received several awards: Star Garnet Award from the Idaho Hospital Association for promoting health care in Idaho; Woman of Today and Tomorrow award from the local Girl Scouts Council as a role model for girls for her visionary leadership; and the hospital’s 2003 Distinguished Citizen honor. Whatever recognition she received, she accepted it in the name of the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

Sister Patricia Mulvaney retired to Saint Catherine by the Sea Convent in July 2012 where, despite health issues, she was a vital part of the community. She will be buried near Ventura, in Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard, California.

Please consider an offering in Sister Patricia Mulvaney’s name to the Ministry with the Poor Fund. Visit www.cscsisters.org for information.