Sister Patricia Murphy, Chicago-area nun known as advocate for immigrants, dies at 96

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago-area nun known as an advocate for immigrants has died.

Sister Patricia Murphy passed away this week, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas confirmed. She was 96.

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For nearly two decades, Sister Pat and Sister JoAnn Persch organized Friday morning prayer vigils outside the immigration processing center in Broadview.

In 2022, she helped start an organization that assists refugee families in finding shelter.

Together, Sisters Pat and JoAnn had a motto.

"We had a model that we did it peacefully and respectfully, but we never take no for an answer," said Persch, a Sister of Mercy and president of Catherine's Caring Cause.

Never accepting less than what was just. It was what formed their unique bond when the two met more than 65 years ago.

"We realized we shared the same passion for justice, and really, I hadn't found anybody like that before," Persch said.

It was the motto that carried them through their decades-long crusades advocating for immigrants and those most in need.

"We really strongly felt calls, and we knew when we were being called to do something, and even if we didn't know at the time," Persch said.

Sister Murphy was a small woman in statue, but she was anything but small when she felt a calling.

"Pat was slight and built and seemed very innocent, but when it came standing up for what she believed, she'd go nose to nose," Persch said.

Together, the Sisters of Mercy brought just that, mercy to the many Chicago organizations they founded, surrounding migrants and refugees.

In 2018, they took their cause to the U.S. Capital after literally getting a call to do so.

"'We'd like the two of you to come to Washington to get arrested,'" Persch said. "So I'm, you know I was going to say, 'Of course,' and Pat's yelling, 'I'll be there.'"

Sister JoAnn said simply being in Sister Pat's presence made every meeting with her so memorable.

"Pat had that special gift that if she sat down here with you, you would know you were the most important person in the world," Persch said.

Even their moments together, both painful, yet poetic.

"Pat's, open mouth closed, and she started singing, 'Carrying me on home,'" Persch said. "And then she took one very big breath, and I said, 'I think that's her last breath.' It was. I couldn't think of a more beautiful way to bring her home."

Together, the two sisters grew a career, championing a cause and a lifelong friendship, never taking no for answer.

It is the motto Sister JoAnn says will transcend this life on to the next.

"I said 'Pat, remember, we don't take no for an answer. When you get to heaven, you go to God, and you don't take no for an answer. We need help down here in our country for our immigrants. So you keep at it,'" Persch said.

"Throughout all the violence Pat saw inflicted on the many people she accompanied, she lobbied for, or for whom she protested, I admired both Pat-and her dear friend and accomplice Sister JoAnn Persch-because they resisted evil by taking the Gospel message very, very seriously. 'Love one another as I have loved you.' And do good to others even if they wish you ill," Sister Susan Sanders, President of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, said in a statement. "This, I believe, was at the heart of their spiritual resilience, and spiritual resistance. Prayer. Courage. Nonviolence. Persistence. And love."

"Sister Pat Murphy dedicated her life to making the world a better, more caring place," Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said in a statement. "She was a voice for the voiceless,and the work she did for immigrants and refugees truly embodies the best of humanity. Today I mourn the loss of my friend who wasa relentless leader in our fight for immigration reform, and I will honor Sister Pat's legacy by continuing her efforts. She often returned to what Pope Francis once said, 'an immigrant is your brother. You can't just walk past him. You have to respond.'"