2026 Jubilee Spotlight
Sister Nancy Celaschi
Celebrates 70 Years
Originally from Charleroi, Pa., Sister Nancy Celaschi entered the School Sisters of St. Francis from Mother of Sorrows Parish in Charleroi in 1965, and professed first vows at Mount Assisi Convent in Pittsburgh in 1966. She celebrates her 60th Anniversary in 2026.
Born into the second generation of a working-class Italian-American family, Sister Nancy followed in the spiritual footsteps of her mother, Ella, a woman of great faith. She and her brother, Raymond, were inspired by their mother’s resolve to remain centered on her family and her parish, even when Ella was called into the workforce after being widowed at just xx.
The family remained deeply involved in their Italian Catholic parish, but the Celaschi children also assimilated early on with their Slovak classmates at the very first parochial school in the area, SS. Cyril & Methodius School, which opened in 1953 with members of the School Sisters of St. Francis as faculty. “It was there that I met and fell in love with our Sisters,” she recalls.
Faith came early for young Nancy Celaschi — in the pews of her home parish, in the halls of her school, and in the example of her mother.
Young Nancy was particularly drawn to three of her teachers — Sister Margaret Elaine Rovnak (second grade); Sister Rose Walter (fifth and sixth grades); and Sister Genevieve Mary Jurick (seventh grade). She encountered Sister Genevieve Mary again during her teenage years at Mon Valley Catholic High School. “She ‘introduced’ me to Francis, and I knew I wanted to walk with him,” Sister Nancy says. “I really didn’t know what that meant. Perhaps, he just appealed to my Italian soul.”
Although she briefly considered joining another Franciscan order in Millvale, Pa., Nancy settled on the School Sisters of St. Francis, entering soon after her high school graduation and receiving the religious name Sister Raymond (she returned to her baptismal name following Vatican II in the late 1960s).
“The faith of my mother, the importance of family, and the dedication of the Sisters inspired me,” she says.
Her first ministry assignment was teaching French and German at our former Mount Assisi Academy in Pittsburgh (1968 to 1973). She also brought to the classroom a great command of her native English, as it was among the courses she taught at our former St. Francis Academy in San Antonio, Texas (1974 to 1982). She also taught journalism and served as yearbook advisor, further honing an affinity for the spoken and written word that equipped her to, later, serve her religious community as both general secretary and provincial secretary. In those roles, she chronicled parts of our congregational history for 15 years.
Sister’s walk with Francis continued during her master’s studies at St. Bonaventure University’s Franciscan Institute and, later, in translating Franciscan works and publishing articles about Franciscan spirituality. It deepened immeasurably throughout the 1980s and 1990s in her work on the English edition of L’Osservatore Romano — the daily newspaper of the Holy See — in Vatican City, and as secretary general of the International Conference of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis (IFC-TOR). She was the first director of IFC-TOR’s Spirit & Life Department, founded the Itinerant School of Third Order Regular Franciscan Spirituality, and established the Propositum bulletin.
She continues to journey with Francis today, often in the places he once walked. Since 2006, Sister Nancy has ministered with Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs, organizing and leading spiritual journeys for travelers from all over the world. Although based back in Pittsburgh since 2021, she still travels several times a year to lead pilgrimages in Italy, sharing reflections on the lives of Francis and Clare and their early companions and helping pilgrims apply these values to their own lives.
Some of the trips she leads are “off-the-rack” pilgrimages to Franciscan places, while others offer an understanding of Franciscan spirituality. There are even “designer” pilgrimages, made to order for special groups such as healthcare institutions, Franciscan university faculty, veterans, and students. Among her favorite is a pilgrimage for U.S. military veterans, mostly Vietnam-era vets. “They reflect on Francis’ experience as a soldier, a prisoner of war, a veteran possibly suffering from PTSD, and a ‘pacifist,’” Sister explains.
“Over the years, I have learned that, although not as easy as it sounds,
I can walk with God ... whatever I am doing.”
During her very first ministry assignment, Sister Nancy taught foreign languages at Mount Assisi Academy in Pittsburgh. She later did the same at our former academy in Texas.
Religious life in general and her own ministry assignments have been a perfect fit for Sister Nancy, who has always been energized by getting to know new people, especially from different cultural backgrounds. Her fluency in four languages has aided her in ministry work around the world, including a decades-long tenure in Rome and at the Vatican. Although the “Magic City” of Charleroi will always have a hold on her heart, Italy has come to feel like her home away from home. In fact, she’s spent more than half of her religious life living and working there.
“I have always thrown myself into my ministry — perhaps, even too much,” she says.
Sister Nancy’s lifelong learning continues even today — 60 years since those first vows — as she continues to meet and learn from those she encounters through ministry. “Recently, I reluctantly (very reluctantly) agreed to help lead a pilgrimage for Friars preparing for solemn profession. It was exhausting and challenging, but very fulfilling.”
The moral of her story? “Don’t be afraid to say ‘yes’ to challenges that stretch you,” she says.
An expert traveler who’s learned to pack smart, she flies to Europe as comfortably as most folks drive to the grocery store. Her years at the Vatican and countless trips to Assisi have made her a tireless student of people, places and cultures. She’s an expert of sorts on significant Franciscan sites throughout Italy and, though it doesn’t happen often, she’ll also let you know when she’s stumbled upon some respectable Italian food stateside (for the record, Severina Restaurant & Bar in Pittsburgh’s West View Borough makes the cut). These collective experiences have filled her suitcase with lessons no text book ever could.
“I have traveled to many parts of this planet and met people of many cultures. Unfortunately, we tend to focus on what makes us different.” Sister says. “All of us share some common desires, among these the basic human desire for healthy relationships — with God and others.”
Her own relationship with God gets a little more attention these days as she has learned to accept a more reasonable travel schedule. “Not having to commute to work, I find more time for prayer and reading,” she says. “Also, more time for fraternal living – that, too, helps us nurture our relationship with God.”
As she approaches her 80th birthday, Sister Nancy makes the most of her time not spent abroad by immersing herself in reading and good conversation and making occasional trips to visit Raymond and his family in Florida. She loves a good whodunit, won’t shy away from a riddle, and has never met a clever pun she didn’t like. Such things keep her on her toes until its time to pack again and get that next stamp on her passport.
“Over the years,” she says. “I have learned that — although not as easy as it sounds — I can walk with God whatever I am doing.”
A group of pilgrims listens intently as Sister Nancy Celaschi explains the significance of San Damiano in Assisi. For two decades, she has lead such experiences as part of her ministry work with Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs.