[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN LOVING MEMORY OF SISTER MARY CELINE GRAHAM: ``A WOMAN OF COMPASSION 
                              AND FAITH''

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 13, 2010

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today 
to memorialize a beloved member of our community, Sister Mary Celine 
Graham, whose mass will be celebrated tomorrow at Saint Aloysius Roman 
Catholic Church in her beloved Harlem. Her tragic and senseless death 
came as a result of a horrific accident and has left behind a deeply 
felt void within the Handmaids of Mary of the Most Pure Heart family 
and the greater Harlem community. The Handmaids of Mary have a special 
place in my heart going back to my youth, and the loss of Sister Mary 
Celine is especially profound.
  Sister Mary Celine was born in Jacksonville, Florida and raised in 
Detroit. At the age of 22, she joined the Franciscan Handmaids of the 
Most Pure Heart of Mary in Harlem, which is one of only three 
historically black orders of Roman Catholic nuns in the United States. 
She continued to share her love and services with her community for the 
next 61 years.
  Her death at the age of 83 leaves behind a great legacy of tireless 
service and devotion to those who needed her. Sister Mary Celine is 
remembered as a woman of true compassion who believed in education for 
the young. She dedicated her life to being a teacher, director, and 
surrogate grandmother to the children of St. Benedict's Day Nursery on 
124th Street at Marcus Garvey Park.
  As the New York Times reported last week, Sister Mary Celine left an 
indelible mark on the children she cared for and educated. She was a 
gently firm yet caring teacher who recognized the potential in each 
individual and worked to bring that potential to fruition. Sister Mary 
Celine was not only an educator but was also a loving mother figure to 
the children. These children not only learned the basics of reading and 
numbers but also learned what it was to love, and what it was to serve 
others.
  The undivided attention and care she poured out to the children and 
the community will be forever etched in the hearts of all those that 
encountered her. She was a true kindred spirit that emanated a sense of 
peace and order.
  Madam Speaker, although her life was taken from us too abruptly, 
rather than mourn this tragedy, I hope that my colleagues will join me 
in remembering and celebrating the tremendous and loving spirit of 
Sister Mary Celine Graham--one of God's special angels who served 
Harlem at the Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary.

                          ____________________