Patricia Chappell

Sister Patricia “Patty” Chappell, SNDdeN is a native of New Haven, Connecticut. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Saint Joseph College and a master’s degree in social work from The Catholic University of America. She is accredited by the Academy of Certified Social Workers, Inc. and entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1977.

For more than 40 years, Sister Patty has worked within her religious community and with congregations nationwide to examine, challenge and dismantle institutional and systemic racism in pursuit of justice. She is frequently invited to speak publicly on anti-racism, faith and social justice issues.

She served as president of the National Black Sisters’ Conference from 1995 to 2001; co-chair of the USA SNDdeN Anti-Racism Team in 2000. She was the first African-American Sister to serve on the Provincial Leadership Team of the former Connecticut Province of SNDdeN, from 2001 to 2006, and to serve on the SNDdeN U.S. East-West Province Team, 2019–2024. She was the first African-American woman religious to serve as executive director of Pax Christi USA, 2011–2019.

Sister Patricia has received numerous honors, including the Harriet Tubman Award from the National Black Sisters’ Conference in 1997, the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in 2011, the Ambassador of Peace Award from Pax Christi USA in 2022, and the Sister Mary Rosa McDonough Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut, in 2025.

Stories about Sister Patty:

• Profile of Sister Patty published when the Leadership Conference of Women Religious named her the recipient of the LCWR Outstanding Leadership Award.
• Sister Patty Chappell Featured in Article about the Synod

Updated in 2026