September 5, 2009
Director of evangelization, catechesis brings varied background to new job
By Denise MacLachlan
Herald staff
Steve
Patton, new director of the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis
for the Sacramento Diocese, at home in Florida with his family before
departing for the West Coast. Left to right: Dominic, Jacinta, Krystena
and wife Bridget Patton.
Steve Patton, the new director of the diocese’s Department of Evangelization and Catechesis, began his work career as an attorney.
For seven years, he represented plaintiffs in civil litigation and defendants in civil and criminal cases in Columbus, Ga. He is particularly proud of one case in which he defended a man against the death penalty, successfully avoiding electrocution so that the defendant was given two consecutive life sentences instead.
Patton, who begins his new position with the diocese on Sept. 8, explained in a telephone interview from his home in Florida how he moved from practicing the law to serving the church.
“I deeply loved the church,” he said. “I was in my 30s. I was single. I had girlfriends, but it wasn’t coming together for marriage. And although my occupation was as a lawyer, my recreation, or avocation, was working with the church.”
Patton was very involved in parish life, serving as president of the parish council and participating in various ministries. He began to contemplate the priesthood.
To discern whether he had a vocation to the priesthood, Patton took a sabbatical from his law practice in 1994 and entered the pre-theologate program at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio.
He took theology and philosophy classes, while also praying and discerning his future.
During his first year in the pre-theology, he was also taking walks with his friend Bridget Berg, whom he’d met at a conference the previous year. Berg was at the university earning a master’s degree in counseling. It wasn’t long before Patton realized that his vocation was to be married to Bridget.
They married in 1995, and Patton switched from the pre-theologate to a graduate program in theology, finishing his master’s degree in 1997.
“Then the question was whether to go back to law or work for the church, which is tantamount to a vow of poverty,” Patton added, laughing. Bridget Patton had lived in France with L’Arche, he noted, an international faith-based organization of communities around the world where people lived with mentally challenged adults. She had a master’s degree in theology and another in counseling, and she was used to living simply, he said, so when he decided to work for the church, she was completely supportive.
“We live a relatively simple life,” he said, “but I am much happier doing this than I would be practicing law.”
Patton also holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a law degree from University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in business administation from Carnegie Mellon University.
After marrying Bridget and realizing that he wanted to change careers, Patton accepted the position of director of family life in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, S.D., where he served for eight years. In 2005, he became director for the Diocesan Center for Family Life in the Diocese of St. Augustine, Fla.
In his new role in the Sacramento Diocese, Patton will oversee all department programs, including evangelization, catechesis, ministry to the deaf, respect life, and ministry with youth and young adults.
In addition, he will oversee all aspects of marriage and family life ministry, including marriage preparation and the promotion of Natural Family Planning.
Kathy Conner, chancellor of the diocese, told The Herald that Patton “has led and developed marriage and family life programs at the diocesan level for over 10 years, and he has launched some wonderfully creative and innovative programs in family life.”
She noted that in the Diocese of St. Augustine, Patton created a mother-daughter and father-son chastity and fertility awareness program, a sponsorship program pairing experienced married couples with newly-married couples for mentoring and friendship, and an annual diocesan men’s conference and an annual women’s conference.
“How we instill family values at the parish level is critical in today’s secular culture,” Conner said. “With Steve’s background in family life, marriage preparation and Natural Family Planning, he is well-equipped to help us strengthen our diocesan and parish programs. We are fortunate to have him leading the department.”
Patton says he looks forward to working in such a large and culturally-diverse diocese.
“I am very excited about it in every way,” he said, adding that arriving in Sacramento will be a homecoming for his wife, who grew up in the diocese as a member of St. Isidore Parish in Yuba City. Most of Bridget Patton’s siblings live in the region, and the Pattons three children — Krystena, 9, Jacinta, 7, and Dominic, 2 — will grow up near more than 20 cousins.
One of Bridget’s brothers is Father Blaise Berg, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish and director of the Newman Catholic Center in Chico.
Having known his brother-in-law for the past 15 years, Father Berg calls Patton “someone who is intellectually curious and open to discussing all kinds of ideas. With his cultured background, he has an interest in Catholic theology, in law and in history. It gives him a good perspective.”
