Sister Cecilia Daigle 1931-2018
| Born December 17, 1931 Entered St. Scholastica Priory, Covington, Louisiana August 25, 1948 Received Habit August 17, 1949 Made First Profession January 14, 1951 Transferred Profession of Stability to St. Walburg Monastery August 1, 1992 Died August 8, 2018 |
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Sister Cecilia Daigle was born in New Orleans, LA on December 17, 1931 to Richard and Mary Lamy Daigle and named Claire Ann. She was the fifth of five children, having one brother and three sisters. One sister is still living.
Claire attended high school at St. Mary’s Dominican and St. Scholastica Academy, each for two years. After graduation in 1948 she entered St. Scholastica Priory in Covington, LA. Claire became a novice in 1949 and received the name Cecilia. First profession followed in 1951 and perpetual profession in 1954. Sister Cecilia celebrated her silver jubilee in 1976, her golden in 2001, and her diamond in 2011.
Sister Cecilia taught kindergarten, first, third and fourth grades for thirty-eight years. Twenty- one years were spent at Mater Dolorosa, her own parish school. She was one of the last members of St. Scholastica Priory to teach there before the school had to close. She taught at other schools within the Archdiocese of New Orleans as well. During the years of her ministry of education she took classes at the priory offered as an extension of Loyola University.
The sisters of St. Scholastica Priory in Covington, LA engaged in a three-year study of the future of the community, and in 1987 decided on dissolution. The dissolution of the priory was very painful for her; she recalled it with grief. Each sister began to visit other communities to find one that felt like home. Celie was the last of eleven sisters to transfer to St. Walburg Monastery. Her transfer became final in August, 1992 .
After her transfer, Sr. Cecilia cooked for the sisters at Villa Madonna for a few years, then did clerical work at Madonna Manor and Thomas More College before her retirement in 1996.
At St. Walburg’s, Celie could be found at card games and at the video recorder, recording shows and movies for the sisters. She was one of the few who could manage the technology.
Weeks ago Celie contracted an infection that she could not shake. Antibiotics seemed to make her weaker and more susceptible. She died peacefully in hospice care on August 8, 2018. She is survived by her sister Georgine in New York, a nephew and nieces, friends and the Benedictine community. Vigil service was held the evening of Monday, August 13, and the Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, August 14, followed by interment in St. Walburg Cemetery.