The Valley Catholic
in the diocese
Patrice Underwood honored for
42 years of pastoral service
By Roberta Ward
Patrice Underwood, who served in
pastoral ministry at St. Martin Parish
in Sunnyvale for 42 years, was honored
May 10 at the parish with a special Mass
of Appreciation and a reception.
According to information in the parish bulletin, Patrice served as a Pastoral
Associate there for 38 years and, after
retirement in 2010, continued to serve in
Pastoral Care Ministry.
“She has dedicated the past 42 years of
her life to serving parishioners, ministering to the sick and the needy, and she has
been committed to building community
in Sunnyvale and the greater Santa Clara
Valley.”
She is moving to Los Angeles where
she will live with her IHM (Immaculate
Heart of Mary) Community and continue
to serve, and to be closer to her family.
She was born in 1929 and raised
in East Los Angeles, the fifth of eight
children. She was educated in Catholic
elementary and high schools and developed an interest in Religious Life while
in high school. She entered the IHM
Community in 1947.
According to an interview with Patrice, conducted by Father Larry Percell
in 2001, she recalled finding some of the
rules frustrating, for example, contact
with family members was vey limited.
When her brother died in a car accident
in 1956, there was little freedom to be
with her family and she was allowed to
attend only the funeral Mass
While still in early formation, she
was assigned a teaching position with a
classroom of 63 second and third grade
students, as well as responsibility for the
sports system, altar boys, and the choir.
After that she had an assignment of 80
first and second grade students.
She was assigned to teach in schools
in northern California and discovered it
was a more progressive area, and class
sizes were only 50 students per class.
From the late 1950s through 1960s,
Patrice recalled, there was change and
relaxation of rules for Religious Orders
of women in the U.S., and Sisters began looking at new ministries beyond
education.
Serving at St. Gregory Parish, San
June 10, 2014
3
Dedication ceremony of new
Abby Sobrato Junior High at
St. Mary’s, Los Gatos.
Patrice Underwood addressed congregation
at special Mass in her honor at St. Martin
Church in Sunnyvale.
Mateo, Patrice taught, was Principal and
served as Superior of the Sisters. She
recalls that Vatican II played a vital role
in shaping Religious Life then, and she
had a “profound life experience” during
a Cursillo in San Francisco when social
justice issues, particularly civil rights,
were a focus.
Patrice traveled to Selma, Alabama
where she marched with now retired
Msgr. Eugene Boyle and many others,
lead by the late Marin Luther King. Her
photo appeared in national publications
and caused her problems with the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles who
accused her of not asking permission to
participate.
By the 1970s, IHMs had to make
decisions regarding their status in the
Church and 500 of the Sisters chose to become part of the non-canonical Immaculate Heart Community, of which Patrice
is a member. Practical implications were
that that this group was not eligible for
archdiocesan benefits so Patrice sought
other employment.
She took a position with five parishes
in Santa Clara County – St. Elizabeth,
Milpitas, and Most Holy Trinity, Our
Lady of Guadalupe, St. Victor and St.
john Vianney in San José where she did
adult education and prepared people for
lay ministry.
She was asked to come to St. Martin’s
in Sunnyvale by Father Frank Cottrell
whom she had known in San Mateo. She
began an array of ministries including
adult education and formation, liturgy,
pastoral care, and community building.
JULY 4-6
RECOVERY RETREAT
Sr. B
JULY 12
SPIRITUAL SPA DAY FOR WOMEN
Rena Grant, M.A.
Kathy Miranda, M.A.
AUG. 1-3
SILENT CONTEMPLATIVE
Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, OSB, Cam.
AUG. 2
SILENT MEDITATION DAY
Sr. Barbara Hazzard, OSB
New Abby Sobrato Junior High School
dedicated at St. Mary’s, Los Gatos
On May 17, benefactors, friends and
alumni joined the St. Mary’s (Los Gatos) community for dedication of the
new Abby Sobrato Junior High building. The event began with Mass in the
parish church followed by a presentation, building tours and barbecue.
School Principal Sister Nicki Thomas, SNJM welcomed attendees, and
introduced Abby Sobrato’s eldest
son, John Matthew, who spoke about
his late mother’s commitment to St.
Mary’s and her years of service to the
parish/school community.
Father Brendan McGuire, a Vicar
General of the Diocese of San Jose, conveyed diocesan congratulations and,
along with St. Mary’s pastor Father
Rick Rodoni and Father Enzie Legattuta, blessed the new school building.
There were student/teacher-guided
tours which included the new technology-integrated middle school classrooms, science lab, Spanish/art room,
St. Mary’s community library, and
a triple monitor digital wall, which
serves as a donors’ acknowledgement
wall, and a teaching tool for middle
school students.
A dedication wall remembers Mrs.
Sobrato’s innumerable contributions
to the St. Mary’s community and
pays tribute to Sister Nicki Thomas’
decades-long dedication to the school.
The new junior high replaces a
more than 50-year-old structure. The
new building was designed with
integrated technologies, including
classrooms equipped with Apple TVs
and wireless service that allow teachers and students to watch and produce
digital class content that is displayed
in high resolution on Sharp monitors.
The library/media center is accessible to both school and parish, and
the building provides collaborative
learning spaces throughout.
Architect Jeffrey T. Berg of Steinberg Architects and Devcon Construction worked together to design
a building for the future, paying
attention to both sustainability and
technology.
For more than 50 years, St. Mary’s
School has provided a faith-based
education dedicated to developing
the whole child, grades K-8. For more
information, contact St. Mary’s School
at 408-354-3944, and visit www.edline.
net/pages/StMarys_S