Thank you, Pat, and congratulations on receiving Fordham University’s Sapientia et Doctrina Award (Fordham’s motto for wisdom and knowledge) for Service to the Renewal of the Church.
The ORE staff will be joining Pat's family and friends to honor her at Fordham this Friday evening, October 21.
"Keck’s path to receiving this award is rather unexpected," as Maria Zone, Communications Director for the Archdiocese, writes. "For twenty years, Keck worked in the corporate world as a director of management information at Aetna Life & Casualty, where she developed impeccable organizational skills and the ability to set goals and get things done. She never contemplated a career in religious education. As it turns out, the same skill set has served her well as Assistant Director in the Office of Religious Education. She supervises a large staff of professional religious educators, including RCIA, Catholic Biblical School, Adult Lay Ministry Formation, Catechist Formation, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Catholic Scouting, and Catechesis for Hispanics.
"Keck says working in religious education has fulfilled her life. When she worked in corporate America,
the salary was lucrative, but the work lacked purpose. She recalls the Christmas in 1991 that changed the course of her life. She wanted to do something meaningful, and she decided she would help a family in need over the holidays. She thought that the best way to accomplish this goal was to go to a church. She picked St. James Church in Rocky Hill, because it was near her home.
“'I didn’t belong to the church, I just knocked on the door and handed a check to this nice, young priest, and I literally said, ‘here’s a check, go help someone,’ and I left.'
"The Rev. Michael J. Motta (now Monsignor Motta) was the priest who greeted Keck. Intrigued by her, he followed up their brief encounter with a phone call.
"Little did Keck know that this chance meeting would catapult her second career and transform her life. She became a member of St. James Parish, and later Monsignor Motta encouraged her to take the position of Youth Ministry Coordinator in the Office of Religious Education, where he was the director. In that role, she organized an archdiocesan pilgrimage for World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado. Several years later, she was promoted to Assistant Director, and will be celebrating her 20th anniversary with the office in 2012.
“'Monsignor Motta saw in me this predisposition toward pastoral ministry that I didn’t even know that I had. I am grateful to him, and I am glad to call him a mentor, my boss and a friend.'
"In addition to a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Connecticut, Keck has a M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from St. Joseph College.
"She will receive the Sapienta et Doctrina Award on Friday, October 21, 2011 at the Rose Hill Campus of Fordham University, Bronx, NY.
