ASTON, Pa.—Franciscan Sister Anthony Celine O’Leary died in Assisi House on Sept. 2. She was 93.
All services were held in Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement home, on Sept. 7. Burial was in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery.
Sister Anthony Celine, formerly Sheila O’Leary, was born in Milford, County Cork, Ireland. She entered the congregation in 1939 and professed her first vows in 1945, serving as a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 71 years. She earned a bachelor’s in education from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., and ministered primarily in elementary education.
In the Diocese of Charleston, S.C., Sister Anthony Celine taught at St. Paul the Apostle School in Spartanburg.
The majority of her ministry was spent in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where she served for 37 years. She taught at Shrine of the Little Flower, St. Anthony, St. Joseph in Fullerton, St. Elizabeth, and St. Katharine schools.
Sister Anthony Celine also spent 15 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where she taught at St. Benedict School. During her ministry in the Diocese of Oklahoma City, she taught at Our Lady of Victory School in Purcell, St. Patrick Indian Mission in Anadarko, and St. Joseph Academy in Chickasha.
She spent five years in the Archdiocese of Washington, and taught at Nativity School; and ministered in the Diocese of Wilmington, where she taught at Holy Angels School in Newark and St. Anthony School in Wilmington. She also served in local house ministry at Immaculate Conception Convent in Elkton, Md.
In the Diocese of Raleigh, Sister Anthony served in local house ministry in Infant of Prague Convent in Jacksonville, N.C.
Additional experience in education included teaching at Holy Ghost School in Bethlehem, Pa.
After her retirement, she returned to St. Anthony Convent, then an independent living unit for the Sisters of St. Francis, where she served in local house ministry and prayer ministry. Following her retirement from active ministry, she moved to Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement home, where she served in prayer ministry until her death.
Sister Anthony Celine is survived by her nephews and her Franciscan family. Donations in her name may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
