Sr. Marie Celine Coan, RSM

Sister Marie Celine Coan, RSM (Mary Helen Coan), a Pittsburgh Sister of Mercy for 79 years, died at the Convent of Mercy on March 1, 2025. Born in Elwood, Indiana she was 96 years old. Daughter of James L. and Helen (Dyer) Coan, Sister Marie Celine entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1946 and made final vows in 1952.

A graduate of Saint Xavier Academy, Latrobe, Sister Marie Celine went on to receive a BS in Education from Mount Mercy College (now Carlow University) and for more than 30 years taught in various diocesan elementary schools such as Holy Family in Latrobe, Epiphany, St. Peter Northside, and St. Elizabeth of Hungary in the Pittsburgh diocese before serving as vice principal of her alma mater, St. Xavier. She also served in school and parish ministry in Elwood, Ind. Afterwards, returning to the Pittsburgh area, she worked in parish ministry at St. Colman’s in Turtle Creek. Sister Marie Celine also served in pastoral care at St. Joseph Nursing home until it closed in 2002. In 2003, she moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to minister at Holy Cross Hospital in various positions. She returned to Pittsburgh in 2006 and volunteered at the Motherhouse.

Friends observed that she had a way of welcoming others and making someone feel as if they were the most important person in her life. For a tiny woman, they observed, Marie Celine had a huge, open heart!

Preceded in death by her parents, her brother, James and her sister, Margaret Ann, Sister Marie Celine is survived by many cousins including, Carolyn Knotts, Sue Davis, and John Borst and his wife Rita. Reception of the body will be in the Mother of Mercy Chapel, Thursday, March 6, at 9 a.m. followed by visitation and a 10 a.m. funeral liturgy. All of this takes place at the Convent of Mercy, 3333 Fifth Avenue. Interment will be at St. Xavier’s Cemetery, Latrobe, Pa. Arrangements entrusted to the EDWARD P. KANAI FUNERAL HOME, 500 Greenfield Avenue. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, 3333 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. or Carlow University Endowed Scholarship Fund.

https://vimeo.com/event/4963991

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