A Farewell to Sister Lilly

By Keiko Casserly ‘23

SSister Lilly Fitzpatrick was among those who started the Corporate Work Study Program here at ICA Cristo Rey back in 2009. After helping build the program from scratch, she has watched the department grow significantly over time and is very proud of its accomplishments. In fact, according to her, when the department was first formed, there were only 12 corporate partners. Now there are over 105 companies working with ICA. However, while she has cherished her time here and taken great pride in her duties, after working here for 13 years, Sister Lilly has decided it is time for her to move on.

“I think the school is ready for fresh blood,” she stated, “You really shouldn’t stay anywhere for more than 10 years.”

While I have not been at ICA for very long (I transferred as a junior to start this school year.), it feels as if Sister Lilly has been a part of my life for much longer. She has this kind of energy that makes you feel like you’re close friends. The past year of kindness, embodied by the fleeting but memorable conversations I had with her, will undoubtedly remain close to my heart, and I’m sure even more so for those students, staff, and partners who have known her longer. She will truly be missed.

Traveling to America

Sister Lilly grew up on a farm in Ireland with seven siblings. After graduating high school, she enrolled in secretarial college and continued on to work as a secretary for a year. During this time, a friend of hers asked if she would like to travel to America. Eager as she was to take this opportunity, she had no money. “Pretend you like kids,” her friend replied, “And you’ll get a round trip ticket and $200 a month.” Her parents thought she was crazy since she already had a secure job as a secretary. However, Sister Lilly had already made up her mind and only intended to stay for a year anyways.

Now in America, Sister Lilly worked as a nanny for a year. After the year had passed she returned to Ireland, only to venture off soon to America once again (and as cliche as it may seem) because she had fallen in love. Seeking independence, she began working as a nanny for a family who assisted her in receiving her Permanent Resident Card. Despite the relationship that brought her back there ending, she began to call America home between her other travels.

Sister Lilly’s Life Goals

“I sat down, Keiko, and said there are five things I want to do in life,” Sister Lilly told me. Her life goals consisted of giving back to society, running a marathon (26.2 miles) in every state, traveling the world, purchasing her own home, and maintaining good health and happiness. I am sure everyone would agree that she completed these goals to an extraordinary extent. Although completing a marathon in eight states compared to the original goal of 50 seems rather small, eight marathons is no easy feat. Sister Lilly has completed marathons in California, Hawaii, Washington State, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, and one other state she could not specifically recall. She continues to run and exercise regularly, which certainly contributes positively to her fifth goal of staying in good health.

From Backpacking to Joining the Convent

I had heard a few things about Sister Lilly’s extensive travel from other teachers prior to interviewing her so I was not surprised to learn that travel was among her life goals. Sister Lilly certainly has a full passport as she has visited Fiji, Thailand, Egypt, New Zealand, Kenya, and India, and has lived in Australia, Hawai’i, New York, and Japan. Hearing this furthered my interest in her path to sisterhood, considering she had expressed no prior desire to do so.

“It was an accident,” was probably the most surprising response I could have gotten. How do you accidentally join a convent? Sister Lilly took me on a trip down memory lane as we revisited the events leading to her decision. Sister Lilly had spent an incredible amount of time giving back to her community, doing things for other people without taking many moments for herself. “As you can see, I am pretty wired,”’ she joked. So naturally, a bulletin for a “quiet Lenten retreat” in Fremont sparked her interest and she decided to go for some relaxation. Upon her arrival, she came to the abrupt realization that this was in fact not a relaxing retreat but rather a “Religious Life” retreat for young women in the process of becoming sisters of the church. The theme for the retreat had been “Fools for Christ”, as it was on the 1st of April. She thought there was no way she was becoming a sister. “I went to boarding school; I know all about nuns,” she told me.

Apparently, the dates had been mixed up on the bulletin board and her Lenten retreat had actually been the week prior. Despite this confusion, Sister Lilly remained; frankly, she said she just didn’t want to drive all the way back to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, she was very impressed with the sisters, who she found to be very progressive and really caring about others. “Long story short, I entered [the convent] five months later,” she said.

In September of 2000, Sister Lilly entered Dominican Sisterhood through circum-stances which seem to be pure chance and she believes to have been the will of God. On April 20th, eight years later, Sister Lilly was asked to come to ICA.

Giving Back to Her Community

“I have always felt very blessed,” Sister Lilly explained, and so, she has seen great importance in giving back to her community. During her travels she continued to do so in her many new environments. For instance, while living in Japan Sister Lilly taught English, and in New York she worked with homeless teenagers, as well as individuals suffering from AIDS. This was not easy work by any means; but regardless of how tired she may have felt, she always felt rejuvenated after her work. “I realized that doing for others brought [me] a lot of happiness,” Sister Lilly explained.

When asked what her favorite part about working at ICA has been, Sister Lilly responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world: “Well the girls of course [...] They have made me realize how blessed I am.” Being able to see the girls in the CWSP department grow and mature has filled her with immense pride. To feel that she contributed in some way to their accomplishments as they move into new careers and continue their education has truly been an amazing experience for Sister Lilly.

Despite loving her work at ICA, Sister Lilly sincerely feels good about her departure, as she feels genuinely proud of the work she has done and left behind. Furthermore, Sister Lilly has complete faith in whomever takes up her position and intends to help where she can without hindering the abilities of the “fresh blood.”

When I asked her what she has planned for the future, she told me she honestly did not know yet. She intends to check in at ICA, as well as to travel and continue her regular runs, but besides that, she has yet to make concrete plans. She gives special thanks to Sister Diane and Sister Lisa Ann, who have been very supportive, as well as Ms. Rose, Dr. Fornero, and Lisa Graham, the previous principal of ICA.