Katherine’s funeral was today at Sacred Heart Church in Colorado Springs, CO. She was a dear friend of mine. A soulful, loving person who sought God. I will miss her. This is a tribute to the memory of Katherine that was read at the luncheon today.
Katherine Cristelli found her way to Sacred Heart Parish desiring to belong and to make a kindly difference. She attended church to pray, for her family, for the needs of many people. She knelt in our pews bearing a mother’s heart.
Her faith led her to support our second graders as they prepared for First Communion. She modeled faith to a generation of students. Katherine not only taught them about God, but she modeled faith to help our youth find meaning in life. She advocated for people with illness and helped us all know the beauty of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, since she was born on September 15.
Katherine also carried a needle and thread in her white purse. She was an avid seamstress, creating her own clothing. Katherine designed and created several vestments for the priests. She washed altar linens and helped clean the church every week. She advised young, engaged couples and consoled widows. She challenged us when she felt we were off course and hugged us when we felt alone.
My deepest memory of Katherine was the evening of the dedication of our new altar on May 23, 2018. She and I planned a year in advance that she would dress the consecrated altar for the first time. During the liturgy that evening, Bishop Sheridan poured sacred Chrism over the top of our new altar table. He slowly wiped the abundant oil into the new oak. With prayer, silence, and the Holy Spirit, our prayer changed the handmade altar into a sacred place for worship.
After Bishop Sheridan finished the gestures of dedication, Katherine began to slowly, lovingly, unfold the many layers of cloth to dress the new altar. She prepared five layers of material to cover the altar because she did not want oil to be absorbed into the fine, new linen. Slowly, with love, slowly with reverence, slowly with purpose, she wiped the altar and then carefully layered each cloth perfectly across the altar to be draped down the sides with accuracy and prayerfulness. She took her time, not in the spotlight, but with heartfelt compassion for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and for our future years of common prayer that would flow from the new altar. She unveiled love in that moment, surrendering to the Holy Spirit in the folds of finely pressed linen. She clothed the altar because she believed her second-grade children would spend a lifetime praying in our renovated church.
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.
