Sr. Angela Fitzpatrick was a member of the Ursuline Sisters of Paola, Kansas, before her congregation merged with the Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph in Kentucky. In 1971, she was one of the first sisters to leave the classroom for pastoral ministry, and later ministries with hospice, the bereaved and the homebound sick. She founded "Dial-A-Ride" for transportation for the elderly, was one of the founding members of Network, and worked at the 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago.

This story appears in the The Life feature series. View the full series.

The Life - New roles. Social analysis. Diversification. Growth and decline. Collaboration. Freedom. Widened horizons. The Life panelists discuss the creative ways the ministries of their congregations are evolving and how they are moving to ministries of presence, empowerment and systemic change — yet in all their ministries, they see the persistence of their charism.

"Our own grief is a gateway to grace, not only for ourselves, but for our world. The grace that will come from embracing this paschal narrative of communion will be costly, but it will not diminish us. It will take our best energy and will not consume us. It will open us to the vitality that lies deep at the heart of communion with God, with another and with the wider world."