By Rayanne Bennett | Associate Publisher

Describing herself as a “wife, mother, professional and Catholic,” Pat Ciarrocchi, retired morning news anchor of CBS3 Philly, stood before a gathering of more than 100 priests to offer them insight on what “Women  Need from Their Priests.”

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Ciarrocchi was the featured speaker at the Diocese’s  Annual Advent Spirituality Day for Priests, hosted this year by St. Aloysius Parish in Jackson, Dec. 15.  It was two months to the day since Ciarrocchi delivered her farewell message to her television audience at CBS, leaving behind a tenure that had stretched over more than 33 and a half years.

It was an invitation from her friend, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., that had led Ciarrocchi to that moment, standing in the front of St. Aloysius Church to deliver an hour-long talk that was rich with humor, emotion and honesty.  She shared with the priests many aspects of her life’s journey and the profound ways that she has been shaped by faith.

Ciarrocchi began by thanking Bishop O’Connell, who she described as her “personal hero.”  She “is inspired,” she said, by the witness that his faith journey and his perseverance through his health challenges has offered. 

Affectionately describing the Bishop as “God’s anchorman,” Ciarrocchi commended the Bishop’s willingness to work with CBS on their coverage of several high-profile Catholic developments, most recently the visit by Pope Francis to Philadelphia.

“Our team loved him.  They sat in awe of the context and candor he brought to our coverage,” Ciarrocchi said.

In what was her first experience speaking publicly about her faith – but surely not her last --  Ciarrocchi admitted to have wanted an opportunity to share her thoughts for some time.  “I can’t tell you how many times, from the pews, I’ve asked myself:  should I or should I not raise my hand during this homily …  Just to add a few observations of my own,” she quipped.

“When you are a woman of faith, a seeker and a writer, dialogue just seems natural.  So today, I am eager to dialogue,” she shared.

Ciarrocchi took the gathered priests through an unguarded account of her life’s story and the way that it was shaped by faith.  From the faithful examples of her devout parents, through her own education, professional career, and her marriage and family life, Ciarrocchi pointed to the many ways that faith has formed and guided her. 

The overriding principle that her parents and life experiences had taught her: “Put God first.”  The rest will fall into place.

She said, “I share all of this with you, so you understand why my Catholicity -- the expression of my Catholic faith -- isn’t clear cut; it’s nuanced.  It’s intertwined in my life and through the roles I’ve clung to as my identity.”

That Catholic faith companioned her through challenges both at work and at home.  Sharing what it was like to have been, at one point, a “42 year old woman with no prospect of a decent boyfriend … let alone a husband,” she credits prayer and God’s providence in delivering her someone who was perfectly suited to her …. and Jewish. 

The ups and downs of family life – meeting challenges together with love, forgiveness and compassion – have helped her to see and share what women, as well as their families, need from their priests.  She challenged the priests, saying, “I don’t know if you talk enough to women about grace.  Hail Mary, full of grace … yes.  But what about Hail Sally … allow yourself to be filled with grace.”

Her desire to be filled with grace has inspired her approach to her work as a broadcast journalist.  While her career has led her to cover a host of important Catholic news live at the Vatican, she also had to cover stories that were difficult and painful. She said, “The world’s struggles are so great, and I’m reporting them to a public that had to cover their children’s ears in some cases, or cringe at the thought of what one human being has inflicted on another.

“But I knew intuitively, if I presented those stories with compassion and caring, with respect and candor, I could do God’s work too; perhaps make it all a little easier to take.”

Ciarrocchi continued, “So my prayer was this … Dear Lord, when they see me, let them see you. When they hear me, let them hear you.”

Her advice to her audience was that families today, living in a difficult world, may not always have a strong faith to guide them.  She told the priests, “On any given day, our world feels as if it is spinning out of control, with ugly words … with an aberration of behavior in the name of worship … the desperation of want – not necessarily for money but a want of peace in households where a child is sick or drug addicted …  and an ever encroaching fear permeating each breath.

“When you prepare to stand at the altar to speak … know that you will have an audience called there to learn something. Teach them how to speak in their families … teach them how to forgive… teach them how to pause to hear the divine … so they can have the practical strength of spirit that allows them to find peace.”

She encouraged them to pray for their people in the way that Pope Francis asked when he opened the Holy Year Door in Rome Dec. 8: “Let your prayer be ‘Lord when they see me, let them see you. When they hear me, let them hear you.”