Sister Kathleen Pittman, CSJ , Class of 1954

A native of New Orleans, Sister Kathleen Pittman and her family moved to Baton Rouge when she was 13, and she was enrolled in St. Joseph’s Academy. Following graduation in 1954, she entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph Novitiate in New Orleans, graduating five years later from St. Mary’s Dominican College with a bachelor of arts in history and a minor in education.

She began her teaching career in 1959 at SJA before moving to St. Joseph Academy in New Orleans, where she ministered for 14 years. In 1974, she began her 15-year career as a member of the Pastoral Ministry Team at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Marrero. While there, she developed the social service and social justice ministries and undertook extensive work in leadership development.

In 1982, Sr. Kathleen and Father Doug Doussan, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker, gathered a group of committed justice and peace advocates to begin the New Orleans chapter of Pax Christi, the international Catholic peace movement. They would spend the next decade developing the chapter, with Sr. Kathleen serving as the local coordinator for several years.

In 1991, Sr. Kathleen joined Catholic Charities in New Orleans in its Parish Social Ministry program before rejoining Fr. Doug in 1995 at St. Gabriel the Archangel, where he had been named pastor of the predominately African-American, low- to moderate-income parish.

“These years have been some of the most fulfilling and challenging of my ministry career,” Sr. Kathleen said of her work at St. Gabriel. “I have been involved in developing ministries and ministry leaders as well as hands-on ministry in liturgy, ministry to the bereaved, pastoral care to the sick and supervision of personnel. But, without a doubt, the most challenging yet fulfilling years of my ministry have been those since Hurricane Katrina.”

Evacuated to Baton Rouge, Sr. Kathleen and Fr. Doug immediately began efforts to find their parishioners through email and cell phones. They discovered their parishioners had been scattered across 22 states. To stay in touch and offer words of hope as well as information, they began a weekly pastoral letter which continues to this day. Five weeks after the storm, Sr. Kathleen and Fr. Doug returned home to witness the devastation first hand.

“We did not know where to turn,” she said. “It was St. Jean Vianney parishioners under the capable leadership of Father Tom Ranzino who came to our aid.”

On November 29, 2005, three months after Katrina, mass was celebrated for more than 300 parishioners who were not yet able to live in the area. Beginning in February of 2006, mass was celebrated every Sunday. Today, a vigil mass is also celebrated every Saturday.

With the church once again operational, Sr. Kathleen and Fr. Doug turned their attention to assisting parishioners who wanted to return home. Through the efforts of more than 1,500 volunteers and donations from every state in the country, families are still being helped in the monumental task of rebuilding their lives. “We now have more than 180 parish families living in their rebuilt homes,” Sr. Kathleen said. “Many others have relocated in the New Orleans area but still make St. Gabriel their parish. Parishioners of St. Gabriel are a deeply faith-filled people, trusting in God present in their lives, with a spirit of hope and determination.”

Progress continues to be made, with an average of 350 parishioners attending mass each weekend. This represents more than half of the pre-Katrina congregation.

Sr. Kathleen is the oldest of three siblings. Both of her sisters, Julie Ann Hill of Houston and Linda House of Memphis, are Academy graduates.

Sr. Kathleen counts her five years at St. Joseph’s Academy among the most significant in her life. “Besides receiving an excellent education, I was loved and nurtured by so many wonderful Sisters who served as outstanding role models for me: Sister Claire Germaine, Sister Alice Marie, Sister Jean Fryoux, Sister Lydia Champagne, Sister Jane Louise Arbour, as well as so many outstanding lay teachers. I know that my concern and passion for justice and peace and the poor and minorities stem from my days at SJA.

“The values that we were taught, both in word and action, served to form us for a lifetime. If I had not gone to SJA, I would not have known the Sisters of Saint Joseph and therefore would not have become part of this community of wonderful women who, without a doubt, have been one of the greatest blessings in my life.”

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