Thank You, Mother Celine
We wanted to share with you the news that our Mother Celine Térèse, has been transferred to Holy Family Home in Philadelphia effective June 21.
As you know, one of the vows taken by the Little Sisters is the vow of Obedience. This vow brings a Little Sister to where her service is needed. While Mother Celine lives by and obeys this vow, it presents us with the need to say goodbye to someone we have come to know and love during her 10-year tenure at Queen of Peace.
Mother Celine’s inherent spirituality, coupled with her ever-present smile, created an atmosphere shared by all of the Little Sisters at our Home, which allowed our Residents to know they would be cared for in the true spirit of St. Jeanne Jugan, without reservation. The Little Sisters also instinctively know the important role performed by our dedicated Staff, 24/7 in order to support our Mission. Mother knew every employee by name and many by their personal faith journeys.
Mother was always grateful to our loyal volunteers, dedicated Auxiliary Committee Members and the spiritual component of our Home provided by our faithful Associates. The Golf Committee will not only remember Mother’s gratitude but will always remember her sense of humor.
Over the past 10 years, the Little Sisters remained a reassuring presence to our Residents and continued to enjoy true compassionate friendships shared with each of them. As you know, the Little Sisters remain faithful to their obligation to make sure no Resident is alone when they are called home to God.
It could be said that, in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, Mother always preached the Gospel and on occasion, used words.
Mother and the Little Sisters leadership team exhibited a comprehensive and prudent approach to the management of our Home. The Little Sisters have always made fiscal responsibility and financial transparency with our donors a priority. Mother was always fond of telling us that our donors are not only partners in our Mission but family members working together for a greater good.
The concept of “deferred maintenance” is something the Little Sisters try to avoid when it comes to our Home. Mother and the Little Sisters diligently worked with you, our donors, to find ways to financially support needed improvements to our Home. In the last 10 years, we have renovated the Chapel on the second floor, installed a generator allowing our Residents and Staff to shelter in place during an emergency, installed window replacements and lighting upgrades for cost savings, implemented IT upgrades for improved Resident medical care, completed brick pointing for facade preservation, upgraded our air conditioning system, overhauled our service elevator for greater Resident care and landscaped walkways on our grounds, to name a few.
And of course, like any Little Sister, Mother was a stickler for the everyday maintenance and normally scheduled repairs and painting that keep our Home the wonderful place it is.
As we begin to come out of the pandemic lockdown, we will never forget that Mother led our Home’s emergency management team through some tough times. The Little Sisters met Super Storm Sandy and the COVID pandemic head on with confidence, strength, preparedness and, of course, an unshakeable Faith.
We will miss our dear Mother Celine, but our love for her and her devotion to Queen of Peace will always be remembered. We send Mother Celine to her new assignment with our love and prayers and an open invitation to visit us.
May God continue to bless and watch over Mother Celine as she undertakes her new responsibilities.
The Residents and Staff at Queen of Peace Residence
Thank You, Mother Celine