Welcome to Pat Policastro
On November 1, 2008, Pat Policastro joined our parish staff as Pastoral Associate for Ministry to the Sick and Homebound.
Pat lives in Murrysville and has been a member of Mother of Sorrows Church for close to 40 years. She became a widow in 1989 after 25 years of marriage to her husband Tom. They had 3 children, John, Mary Alice and Michael. She is now the grandmother of Elizabeth, Edward, Quentin and Sarah.
Pat received a B.A. in French from Seton Hill College in 1964 and an M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Pastoral Ministry from Duquesne University in 1993. In addition, she has completed 4 semesters of Clinical Pastoral Education in a hospital and a nursing home to fulfill the requirements to become a certified Catholic Chaplain through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.
In the past, she has served as a part time chaplain at Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh, Manor Care Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers of Pittsburgh and Westmoreland Hospice. She was invited to be a member of the Mercy Jeanette Hospital Ethics Committee for 6 years prior to their becoming a part of the Excela Hospital System where she now remains in the same capacity. Pat has supervised students from the Seton Hill University Pastoral Ministry Program during their practicum semester when they have expressed the desire to learn about pastoral care to the sick and the dying.
During the last 15 years, Pat has served full time as the Pastoral Associate at Immaculate Conception Church in Irwin with primary responsibility for programs and the pastoral care of the senior members of the parish visiting them in hospitals, care facilities and at home. She assisted with funeral rituals, funeral planning and bereavement programs.
Recently retired from this position, she has taken time to visit children, grandchildren and relatives and enjoyed some traveling and relaxation.
Feeling called to continue to serve, but on a more limited schedule, she is pleased and feels privileged to become part of the staff at Mount St. Peter Parish. She will provide regular visits to homebound parishioners, patients in hospitals and residents in care facilities to give opportunities for reception of sacraments, prayer and spiritual care to sustain them on their faith journey through illness and at the end of life.