Sr. Celeste Crine at a summer sebatical course led by Fr. Eduardo Fernandez at the School for Applied Theology in Berkley, California. Photo © Tim LaBarge 2017
With an easy, approachable manner and a gentle spirit, Sr. Celeste Crine has shared her gifts as a teacher, formator, and spiritual guide. She is especially focused on helping others grow in the area of spirituality and one’s personal growth in the integration of body, mind, and spirit. Now, as the assistant congregational minister, Sr. Celeste desires to accompany our sisters in their life journey, encouraging them toward continual growth and development of their gifts.
Baptized Cheryl Lynn, the second of four children born to Mina and John Crine, Sr. Celeste grew up in Trenton, New Jersey. She was the product of a public-school education, attending Motts School, Junior Four, and Trenton High School. When asked about important teachers in her education, Sr. Celeste said, “Miss Mary Papp was an influential teacher during my ninth-grade year and kept in contact with me through high school. She pointed me toward being a teacher.”
It was during her junior year of high school that Sr. Celeste first felt the call to religious life. She recalls, “After speaking to a priest and meeting a number of times, he gave me a book containing many congregations and told me to look through it and see what I wanted to do. I kept coming back to the picture of one of our sisters standing by the first station. I only knew that I wanted to serve God. I have come to know that the Franciscan spirit, especially that of St. Clare, was already active in my heart and soul.”
Sr. Celeste poses outside St. Leo’s in Lincroft, New Jersey, with her mother and father.
In preparation for her Golden Jubilee, Sr. Celeste reflected on her mother’s influence in planting the seeds of her vocation, sharing, “As a child, I remember my mother saying, ‘God is in you and will always take care of you. You can talk to God anytime.’ Her words of faith and wisdom were the foundation for my conversational relationship with God that, I believe, developed into my becoming a sister.”
Sr. Celeste won a scholarship to Trenton State College and attended for one year before entering the congregation in 1962. She continued her education at Our Lady of Angels College where she received a BA in history. She professed her first vows in 1965 and began teaching elementary school at St. Leo the Great in Lincroft, New Jersey. Sr. Celeste continued her teaching ministry in Massachusetts at Our Lady of Assumption School in Lynnfield and Blessed Sacrament School in Wapole.
After studying at the Institute of Religious Formation at St. Louis University, Sr. Celeste moved to Aston and Our Lady of Angels Convent as the assistant formation director. She served in this role from 1974-1981. Her study at the Institute of Religious Formation included training for spiritual direction, because spiritual direction was an important part of the discernment model that was being used at the time. Sr. Celeste continued her studies in spirituality, receiving her MA in spirituality from Creighton University and her certificate in spiritual direction from Upper Room Spiritual Center in Trenton, New Jersey.
In 1981, Sr. Celeste returned to her first ministry site at St. Leo the Great in Lincroft, but now as associate pastor and director of spiritual ministry. When speaking of this time, Sr. Celeste shared, “I was ministering to adults who were children in my classes when I first left the novitiate and began as a teacher. Ministering with a pastor who wanted a woman to copastor with him and help guide the church to be more of a Vatican II parish was a total gift.”
Sr. Celeste really enjoyed being on the West Coast. Here she rides Dusty the horse in the Garden of the Gods.
After nearly 10 years in parish ministry, Sr. Celeste began working at the spiritual center, from its beginnings as San Damiano through it becoming the Franciscan Spiritual Center, Aston. She worked as a spiritual director, as well as offering holistic, integrative retreats including Reiki, massage, Traeger, and Tai Chi Chih. During this time, Sr. Celeste also served as the delegate for religious for the Diocese of Wilmington and as a supervisor for the spiritual direction component of the Pastoral Counseling Program at Neumann University. She also was a staff member at the Sabbatical for Contemporary Franciscans at Tau Center in Winona, Minnesota. In reflecting on this time, Sr. Celeste said, “Throughout my spiritual ministry, there was an underlying belief that ‘if God is everywhere,’ then God has something to do with our whole being: body, mind, and spirit. I became interested in the holistic aspects of spirituality.”
In 2004, Sr. Celeste was invited to move out west as the director of spirituality, hospitality, and healing arts at St. Joseph Family Center – a sponsored ministry of the congregation, in Spokane, Washington. Her ministry at St. Joseph’s included spiritual direction, leading retreats and workshops, and even cooking for guests. Sr. Celeste enjoyed living on the west coast and shared, “living on the west coast has deepened my understanding and appreciation of the west coast culture, its people, and our sisters whose living experiences are there.”
Sr. Celeste Crine directs a prayer ritual for participants completing a course entitled “Intercultural Church and the Arts” at the School of Applied Theology. Photo © Tim LaBarge 2017
While she was still working in Spokane, Sr. Kathleen Gannon gave Celeste a call and invited her to apply for the position that Kathleen was leaving at the School of Applied Theology in Berkeley, California. Celeste decided to apply and went to stay with Kathleen while she interviewed for the position. She remembers being amazed by the gorgeous views of San Francisco and the Bay that were visible from Kathleen’s porch. At the end of her interview, Celeste was offered the position and Kathleen helped Celeste take over the lease of her apartment. Sr. Celeste was the coordinator of spirituality for the school, working with men and women on sabbatical. In speaking of her time there, Sr. Celeste said, “ One of the greatest gifts of those years was having very diverse participants from around the world. This deepened my experience and understanding of various cultures, their spirituality, and our global interconnectedness. I have a greater resonance with being brother and sister with all.”
As part of the leadership team, Sr. Celeste enjoys attending Assisi House events and celebrating and talking with the sisters during the annual Christmas party.
When asked about her current ministry as assistant congregational minister, Sr. Celeste shared that her responsibilities include being the liaison with Assisi House, wellness services, and legal services and as a contact person for our sisters. Other responsibilities include being on the Franciscan Federation Board and representing our congregation at Region 15 of LCWR. Celeste remarked, “I enjoy my work as part of a team moving us into the future. I feel there are many possibilities to become more of who we are called to be, as individuals and as a community. Together we will make a difference for the future.”
When she is not busy working, Sr. Celeste enjoys contemplative time, either sitting in silence or using art, poetry, or reading as a focus. She also enjoys crocheting, knitting, and sewing, as well as experimenting with watercolors. Walking and Tai Chi Chih are activities that she hopes to return to in the near future.
In reflecting on her life as a Sister of St. Francis, Sr. Celeste explained, “The first response that comes is a deep sense of GRATITUDE for my call to this congregation. I know that it was truly God’s initiative that brought me here. Throughout my 55-plus years in the congregation, I have been blessed to live with, minister with, and experience the deep faith of our sisters and their desire to live as Gospel women. The times in which we live call me to see with new eyes and an open heart who we are and who we are to become within the Franciscan family for the sake of the future. I have hope that, with God’s help, we still have much to offer this world that so needs healing. Together we can be that presence.”
Colleen Collins
