Age 96
Sister Marie Celine Coan was born in Ellwood, Indiana, and entered the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the age of 18.
A graduate of St. Xavier Academy, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Marie Celine received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Mount Mercy College (now Carlow University) and taught for more than 30 years in various diocesan elementary schools in Latrobe and Pittsburgh before serving as vice principal of her alma mater, St. Xavier.
Following her teaching career, Marie Celine worked in parish ministry at St. Colman’s in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, and served in pastoral care at St. Joseph Nursing Home in Pittsburgh until it closed in 2002. In 2003, she moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to minister at Holy Cross Hospital in various positions. She returned to Pittsburgh in 2006 and volunteered at the Motherhouse.
Friends observed that Marie Celine had a way of welcoming others and making someone feel like they were the most important person in their life. For a tiny woman, she had a huge, open heart.