Sister Marie Celeste Cuzzolina

02/07/1915 - 07/07/2004

Sister Marie Celeste Cuzzolina, 89, died suddenly at Caritas Christi, motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity, in Greensburg, on Wednesday, July 7, 2004. She was born Feb. 7, 1915, in Altoona, to the late Francis (Frank) and Maria Antonia (Dente) Cuzzolina. She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by six brothers, Jacob, Patrick, George, James, John and Michael; and four sisters, Mrs. Anthony (Carmela) DeBernardis, Mrs. Charles (Julia) Petrarca, Mrs. Dominic (Mary) Corso and Mrs. Joseph (Josephine Alphonsus) Moran. She received her B.A. degree from the University of Pittsburgh (history, French, English), her M.A. degree from Laval University, Quebec (French) and her Ph.D. from Laval University, Quebec (French). She entered the Sisters of Charity on Sept. 8, 1932, from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Altoona. A teacher of French grammar and advanced composition, Sister Marie Celeste taught at Elizabeth Seton High School, Brookline; Holy Innocents High School, Sheraden; Sacred Heart High School, Shadyside; and Seton Hill University. She pursued post-graduate studies at the Sorbonne and Institute Catholique (Paris), the University of Madrid (Spain), the Escuela Nacional de Idiomas (Spain) and the University of Perugia (Italy). She initiated the French graduate program at Wisconsin State University. Sister Marie Celeste served as director of foreign languages for the state of Illinois, organizing workshops and seminars for teachers and writing Guidelines for the Teaching of Foreign Languages in the Seventies, French, German, Latin, Spanish, Russian. She was named professor emerita by Loyola University of Chicago in June 1980, after a 13-year tenure. As a member of the board of trustees of the American Institute for Foreign Studies, Sister Marie Celeste spent summers researching Black-African French literature in Paris, which resulted in articles published in French scholarly journals. Sister Marie Celeste was the recipient of many honors and awards, including the First Service Award for Outstanding Work, presented by the Illinois Foreign Language Teachers Association in 1985; the Raymond Casgrain Prize, awarded by Laval University for best literary publication of 1962; and the Chevalier dans l'ordre des Palms Academiques, by the French Ministry of Education in 1965. A prolific writer on the life of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, founder of the Sisters of Charity, Sister Marie Celeste published Elizabeth Ann Seton: A Self-Portrait (1986) and The Intimate Friendships of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1989). In commenting on the life of Elizabeth Ann Seton, Sister Marie Celeste noted, "We tend to think of saints as people beyond our reach, but I found her a beautiful woman to whom we can all relate. She was different from what we would imagine a saint to be." Friends will be received Monday from 4 to 6:45 p.m. and Tuesday from 2 to 7 p.m. at Caritas Christi, 459 Mt. Thor Road, Greensburg. A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Chapel of the Assumption, Caritas Christi. Interment in Sisters' Cemetery, Seton Hill, Greensburg. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of Charity, DePaul Center, 463 Mt. Thor Road, Greensburg, PA 15601.