Sr. Rita Bray, C.S.C. M’75

Sr. Rita Bray, C.S.C., Notre Dame, IN, died June 27, 2024.

Sister Rita entered the Sisters of the Holy Cross from Marion, Ohio, on August 1, 1958. Her initial profession of vows took place on August 15, 1961.

A contemplative woman, she enjoyed sitting and observing the world around her in silence. After devoting 63 years of her life as a professed Sister of the Holy Cross, she appreciated all moments of reflection.

She was the youngest of her family’s six children. The Brays were a pious family who seldom missed daily Mass. Rita was born and raised in Marion, OH, where she attended St. Mary School and Marion Catholic High School.

Her introduction to Holy Cross occurred through her brother, Paul, who entered the Brothers of Holy Cross in 1949. Throughout high school, Rita considered her own vocation. Once she graduated high school in 1958, she answered this call. On August 1, 1958, two weeks short of her 18th birthday, Rita entered the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame. Upon reception of the holy habit, she became Sister Mary Celestyn.

Prior to beginning active ministry, Sister Celestyn graduated from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, with a bachelor’s degree in Latin in 1963. Then she taught the sixth grade at Holy Trinity School, Norfolk, Virginia, from 1963 to 1965, and Latin at The Academy of the Holy Cross, Kensington, Maryland, for the following two years.

After returning to her baptismal name in 1967, Sister Rita continued to teach for two years at St. Catharine School, Columbus, OH, and then a year at St. Paul the Apostle School, Richardson, TX. In 1970, she returned to St. Catharine School as the religious education coordinator for four years. Sister Rita then taught religion at St. Mary’s Academy, Alexandria, VA, for two years before she was assigned to Holy Redeemer Parish, Burton, MI, to direct religious education until 1980. Simultaneously, Sister Rita was working on a master’s degree in religious education from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, graduating in 1975.

Following 17 years in education, Sister Rita ministered in the rural area of Lancing, Tennessee, for more than 25 years with Sister Julia Marie (Jacomet), CSC. In collaboration with the Brothers of Holy Cross and other religious congregations, the sisters facilitated the liturgical and catechetical life of St. Ann Parish and other churches in the Lancing and Deer Lodge areas through various ministries.

While Sister Julia Marie was involved with community outreach, Sister Rita assisted the Plateau Home School, Lancing, with secretarial work and tutoring children. Additionally, she was the director of catechetical ministry at St. Ann Parish. The two Holy Cross sisters lived together in an older and simple farmhouse they called Our Lady of the Pines. Sister Rita felt blessed to help the Catholic communities of Lancing for several decades, doing so with Sister Julia Marie and her brother, Brother Paul Bray, CSC.

Sisters Julia Marie and Rita left Tennessee in 2006 to serve as co-directors of Angela House of Prayer and Retreat Center, Michigan City, IN. For eight years, she was responsible for providing the hospitality and environment needed for visiting groups and individuals seeking prayer and renewal. She particularly enjoyed when groups of people who were unhoused would come to the center with Jesuit priests from Chicago, Illinois. Sister Rita’s calm and pleasant personality was a welcome presence among the staff and was dearly missed following her departure.

Since 2014, Sister Rita had been living in community at the motherhouse at Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, and volunteering her service when needed. Though Sister’s health gradually declined, her sudden medical crisis surprised those at Saint Mary’s Convent who kept vigil with her.

She is survived by extended family and sisters of her religious community.