Following are selected comments on the death of Sister Cecilia Louise Moore, CSJ.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles:

On Monday of Holy Week 2004, an extraordinary woman Religious completed her earthly journey and entered into the fullness of eternal life. It seems so fitting that a Sister of such deep faith would be welcomed into the Kingdom of God as the renewed graces of Christ's Paschal Mystery begin to fill our hearts and souls once again.

Sister Cecilia Louise Moore, CSJ, was a person of such remarkable stature that one hardly knows where to begin to describe her many gifts and talents, graces that she so generously placed at the service of the Church she loved so much, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to whom she was deeply attached, and of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to which she gave exquisite leadership.

While we surround her with our prayers and love, there is not the slightest hesitancy in stating that this holy woman of God is finally at home, her illness and sufferings now mercifully ended. Just as we have accompanied her on this journey of life and faith, she now accompanies us in a new and grander manner --- as part of the communion of saints.

The service of Sister Cecilia Louise spans several Archbishops of Los Angeles, and for each she brought unique talents and expertise --- so generously given year after year. During my nineteen years as Archbishop, she became one of my closest confidants and most effective leaders. She had a vast and deep wisdom that underpinned all of her recommendations and decisions. She respected and valued every person with whom she carried out her various ministries, and her loving and kind temperament helped resolve so many tensions in difficult situations.

When the Archdiocese was structured into the five Pastoral Regions in 1986, and the leadership team for the Archdiocese established, she became the first Director of the Secretariat for Educational and Formational Services. She brought together the loosely connected educational apostolates of the Archdiocese and created a common vision, direction, and strategy that continues forward even now.

When I was given the opportunity to appoint the first non-priest Chancellor for our Archdiocese, it was not necessary to even pause to seek a candidate: there was only one candidate, and it was Sister Cecilia Louise. She became the first woman Chancellor for our Archdiocese, and remained in that position until health concerns required her to step aside from those duties the Spring of 2003.

It was so easy to bring the most complex and difficult problems to Sister Cecilia Louise Moore. I always knew that she would give the matter full thought, prayer, and reflection. And in the end, her advice to me was always the perfect course to follow --- time and time again. Her even temperament assured me that her calm and recollected approach would help all of us through many trying moments. Her ready sense of humor often rescued us all from the tensions that often surrounded our challenging moments.

Her knowledge and wisdom were just a few of her amazing traits. Her grasp of the institutional history of the Archdiocese was invaluable to all of us as she guided us along the path towards the future. She helped shape that future, but never losing a grasp on from where we had come, how, and why. Like the history of the entire Church, appreciating the past helps us build a better future together.

While all of us will greatly miss her in our daily ministries and apostolates, in a special way I, personally, will miss her. She has been that rock of strength, stability, and continuity upon which my own life and ministry in Los Angeles were tethered.

But she is now home with our Risen Savior, his dear Mother, and St. Joseph for whom she had a constant, special devotion. May she intercede in the midst of her new Eternal Family for all of us who remain behind and who still must complete our journeys. May she now enjoy the fullness of God's light and peace.

Sr. Karen Wilhelmy, CSJ, spiritual director, St. Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo:

Thinking about Sr. Cecilia Louise both as a member of the same religious family and as a dear friend brings back many thoughts: some profound and some humorous.

Sr. Cecilia Louise was a wise, warm, wonderful woman of the Church. She modeled for others the ways of listening, loving, and laughing. During the many meetings which she chaired and I attended, Sister listened to the various divergent points of view being expressed, and united them in ways that were acceptable to all present. She could listen and recognize the wisdom of others even when what they believed or articulated was contrary to her own position. Her respect for the dignity of all others was evident in so many ways.

She also had the gift of laughter as well as the ability to enjoy life. That enjoyment was in little things and in great ones. She was very much at home cooking, doing dishes, serving guests. Perhaps the irony of her death was in the choice of readings for the daily Eucharistic liturgy. The Gospel story was that of Jesus at the table of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. As Martha, Sr. Cecilia Louise was always doing things for others in the spirit of hospitality; as Mary she was the contemplative at prayer who loved the song "You Are the Center of My Life"; and as Lazarus she was the person who was always open to others and to the actions of God in her life, those which were truly life-giving and those which were small but meaningful. She combined the active and the contemplative life with faith, service of others, and her gifts of good sense and sound judgment.

She had the ability to "tell it like it is" when that was needed and could be effective. She spoke the truth in love but never retreated from the call to challenge others to grow.

As my sister in religion and as my dear friend, Sr. Cecilia Louise was a mentor, and model, and a friend who never let me get away with anything as she called for truth and integrity in me.

She loved the Church and she loved her religious community. This past February when she was honored at the Cardinal's Award Banquet, she said the award would be accepted only if it were given to her in the name of all of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet who served the Church in the Archdiocese. She saw herself as one among many and never at the center of things. She was humble, regal, gifted and simple at the same time and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the Archdiocese, and the Church are beggared by her death, but gifted by the privilege of having known, loved, and worked with one so truly called to the service of others without exception.

Msgr. Aidan Carroll, principal, Bishop Amat High School; former archdiocesan superintendent of schools:

I have been privileged to know Sr. Cecilia Louise Moore, CSJ, for some 20 years. I was very closely associated with her in the field of Catholic education while I served as Superintendent of Schools from 1986-1991. Her death is a source of great sorrow to me. I offer my deepest sympathy to the members of her family and to the members of her Religious Community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet.

Sr. Cecilia Louise was a woman of profound spirituality. Every project she undertook, every action she performed emanated from her deep trust in the power of Divine inspiration and were enriched by her untiring desire to serve the needs of her brothers and sisters in the world. She brought luster to the charism of vowed religious life which she lived out with such fidelity and devotion in her beloved Community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet.

She was a woman of extraordinary kindness and compassion. Those who worked with her always knew that in moments of uncertainty or despondency they could draw freely from the rich treasures of her wisdom and concern. In her presence one could feel the intense focus of her undivided attention and experience the warmth of her loving care. The Good Shepherd assures us that he calls us each by name and loves us with unfailing love. In her life, Sr. Cecilia Louise called many of us by name and fortified us with Christ-like tenderness.

One always knew with certainty where Sister Cecilia Louise stood on any particular issue. She expressed herself with precision, clarity and total lack of ambiguity. In an era in which many in high office abuse the truth with utterances that are devoid of meaning or are callously framed to deceive rather than to inform there was about this servant of God, Cecilia Louise Moore, a candor and integrity that were truly refreshing and uplifting.

Sister Cecilia Louise was the consummate Catholic educator. As teacher, administrator, and advocate she devoted her entire life as a religious sister to the support of this cause she valued so highly. Thomas Groome has pointed out that it is a sacred privilege and an awesome responsibility to be an educator. No wonder, he states, that the Bible promises that those who do it well, "shall shine like the stars of heaven forever" (Daniel 12:3). This great woman has now taken her rightful place in the celestial constellation.