She can be found helping out all over campus with a welcoming smile on her face. Sister Christine Marie Baltas started her sixth year back at Cabrini College this fall.
Sister Christine traveled the country teaching at catholic institutions of every level. From being a principal at the St. Donato’s Elementary School to teaching at each of the four Cabrini High School, she has moved from school to school. In the early 1980s, Sister Christine was the Dean of Students at Cabrini College for four years before leaving to teach in Philadelphia.
“We were like ping pong balls, traveling all over the place. Going where we were needed,” said Sister Christine.
After teaching all over, Sister actually asked to come back and teach at the college level again.
After almost 25 years away from Cabrini College, Sister Christine has not skipped a beat. She got right back into the swing of things, dedicating a lot of her time to the Campus Ministry. She helps with campus events such as room blessings, Christmas at Cabrini and graduation.
“I do whatever I can, whatever I’m asked to do [in Campus Ministry].”
Outside of Campus Ministry, Sister Christine also volunteers her time to a variety of tasks asked of her. She often speaks to ECG classes about Mother Cabrini and leads reflections at campus events.
“I’m often asked to do various and sundry things and if I can say yes, I do.”
So after traveling to places like California, New York, Louisiana, what would bring someone back to a little town in Pennsylvania?
“I had such fond memories and such a wonderful experience [at Cabrini College],” she said. “I just really enjoyed my time there and I knew I would love to hopefully return.”
One of Sister Christine’s fondest memories of her time as Dean of Students at Cabrini was the aftermath of a student accidentally breaking one of the hands off of the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue outside of the Chapel. The student, our then SGA president, was clowning around and jumped up on the statue pedestal late one night. He somehow applied too much pressure to the wrist of the statue, causing the hand to break off. He apologized in the morning to Sister Christine and it has since been fixed. Public Safety also reenforced the wrists of the statue, to prevent further damage. You would never notice it unless you are looking right at the statue but the fixed hand is now cockeyed and the cement used to reenforce the arms is obvious and completely out of place.
“It’s the little things that stick out in your mind. I’m sure Public Safety doesn’t find the stunt too amusing but it’s one of my favorite memories of this place.”
