On May 18, 1929, Patricia Jean Monaghan became the fifth child born to John William and Mary Louise Monaghan, in Central City, Ky. Pat – or Patty Jean – joined one brother and three sisters in the growing Monaghan family. As the years followed, the Monaghan family grew to include seven daughters and three sons. Sister Renée would say, “There was never a dull moment growing up in such a large and loving family. [We] made our own entertainment.”
On Tuesday, September 3, 1935, Patty Jean met her second family in faith and began her relationship with the Ursuline Sisters on her first day of school at Saint Joseph Elementary School. Patty Jean attended Central City High School and for her senior year, attended Mount Saint Joseph Academy.
That same fall semester, Patty Jean submitted her application to become a postulant and was accepted. On February 2, 1948, this high school senior became a postulant of the Ursuline Sisters. On Saturday, August 14, 1948, Patty Jean became Sister Mary Renée and joined with 13 other gifted young women.
Before she had an opportunity to make her final vows on Saturday, August 15, 1953, Sister Renée would have taught for three years at Saint Catherine School in New Haven, Ky., and at Saint Sebastian in Calhoun, Ky. Over the next 25 years, Sister Renée would complete her formal education over her summer “vacations,” earning a degree in history from Brescia College in 1967, and in 1973 a Master of Arts in elementary education from Western Kentucky University, with a School Administration certificate in 1978. During the rest of her first 15 years as a teacher, Sister Renée taught in three more Kentucky schools, St. Peter of Antioch in Waverly; Our Lady of Mercy in Hodgenville; and Immaculate Conception in Hawesville.
In Missouri and Kentucky, Sister Renée would spend the next quarter century ministering as a principal. She guided faculty in five different schools during those years: St. Teresa School, Glennonville, Mo.; St. Joseph, Mayfield, Ky.; St. Ignatius, Louisville, Ky.; St. Pius Tenth, Owensboro, Ky.; and Sacred Heart School, Poplar Bluff, Mo. For the next 17 years – in addition to a brief stint as Activities Director for the Retired Sisters at the Motherhouse, Sister Renée would serve in parish ministries at Saint Peter of Antioch Parish, Waverly, Ky.; at Holy Angels Parish, in New Harmony, Ind.; and at Saint Francis de Sales Parish, in Lebanon, Mo. The people with whom she worked, studied, played, and prayed noticed Sister Renée’s considerable patience and open approach to all she did. In 2006 Sister Renée returned to the Motherhouse to work a few years in the Archives and begin her retirement in the Villa. Sister Renée passed away on Friday August 30, 2013.