<P> A reference to it is made in the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life, in which Henry Travers, a co-star of The Bells of St. Mary's, played the guardian angel . </P> <P> The unconventional Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley (Bing Crosby) is assigned to St. Mary's parish, which includes a run - down inner - city school building on the verge of being condemned . O'Malley is to recommend whether or not the school should be closed and the children sent to another school with modern facilities; but the sisters feel that God will provide for them . </P> <P> They put their hopes in Horace P. Bogardus (Henry Travers), a businessman who has built a modern building next door to the school which they hope he will donate to them . Father O'Malley and the dedicated but stubborn Sister Superior, Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman), both wish to save the school, but their different views and methods often lead to disagreements . One disagreement involves a student (Richard Tyler) who is being bullied by another . A more serious one regards the promotion of an eighth - grade student, Patsy (Joan Carroll), whom the parish has taken in while her mother (Martha Sleeper) attempts to get back on her feet . </P> <P> At one point, Sister Benedict contracts tuberculosis, and the physician recommends to Father O'Malley that she be transferred to a dry climate with non-parochial duties, but without telling her the reason . She assumes the transfer is because of her disagreements with O'Malley, and struggles to understand the reasons for the path set out for her . Right before Sister Benedict departs, Father O'Malley reveals the true reason for her temporary transfer . </P>

Who played patsy in bells of st mary's