Dagmar Ingrid Braun Celeste (''née'' Braun; born November 23, 1941) is an American counselor, and author. The former first lady of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, she was married to former Ohio governor (1983–1991) and U.S. ambassador Richard F. Celeste, whom she met while attending

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in England. They have six grown children, and were divorced in 1995.

Early life and education

Celeste was born in Krems,

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

Nazi occupied Austria Austria was part of Nazi Germany from 12 March 1938 (an event known as the ''Anschluss'') until 27 April 1945, when Allied-controlled Austria declared independence from Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany's troops entering Austria in 1938 received the ...

. She holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

, a

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

law degree from

Capital University Capital University (Capital, Cap, or CU) is a private university in Bexley, Ohio. Capital was founded as the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio in 1830, and later was associated with that synod's successor, the Ame ...

, and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in alcoholism and drug abuse ministry from the

Methodist Theological School in Ohio The Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO) is a graduate theological school and seminary in Delaware, Ohio. MTSO is one of the 13 official seminaries of The United Methodist Church. MTSO is accredited by the North Central Association of Col ...

. She is also a licensed

polarity Polarity may refer to: Science *Electrical polarity, direction of electrical current *Polarity (mutual inductance), the relationship between components such as transformer windings * Polarity (projective geometry), in mathematics, a duality of ord ...

practitioner.

Politics and social issues

Some notable achievements as first lady of Ohio included chairing the Ohio Recovery Council, spearheading the drive to establish the first state-sponsored on-site child care center and

Employee Assistance Program An employee assistance program (EAP) is an employee benefit program that assists employees with personal problems and/or work-related problems that may impact their job performance, health, mental and emotional well-being. EAPs generally offer ...

in Ohio, initiating the Task Force on Family Violence, co-chairing the Governor's Commission on

Volunteerism Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

, and serving as co-chair of the Council on Holocaust Education. She was an Ohio delegate to the

Democratic Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1980. Since 1992, she has continued to remain politically active through such organizations as the National Peace Institute, Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament, the Council for Ethics in Economics, and the Women's Community Fund in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ordination

In 2002, Celeste announced that she had secretly been ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of "Angela White". She was one of seven women, the "

Danube Seven The Danube Seven are a group of seven women from Germany, Austria and the United States who were ordained as priests on a ship cruising the Danube river on 29 June 2002 by Rómulo Antonio Braschi, Ferdinand Regelsberger (bishop), Ferdinand Regelsber ...

", ordained by Argentinian

independent Catholic Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (most often as Old Catholic or as Independent Catholic) and form "micro-churches claiming apostolic succession and valid sacrament ...

bishop

Rómulo Antonio Braschi Rómulo Antonio Braschi (born December 25, 1941) is an Argentine independent Catholic bishop, not in communion with the Catholic Church. Braschi was labeled as being an ''episcopus vagans'' in the early 2000s. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, and ...

on a boat on the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, making her the first female American Roman Catholic to call herself a priest. Celeste was subsequently

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

by the Roman Catholic Church, which does not recognize the validity of the

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

of women.

Other activities

Celeste serves as the executive director of the Tyrian network, "an intentional learning community founded in 2000 on

Kelleys Island, Ohio Kelleys Island is both a village in Erie County, Ohio, and the island which it fully occupies in Lake Erie. The British originally called it Sandusky Island. Later the United States took it over and officially designated it as Island Number 6 ...

and dedicated to

Brigid Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandais ...

, both the Goddess and the Saint". She is the author of the auto-biographical book ''We Can Do Together: Impressions of a Recovering Feminist First Lady''. She has also participated in productions of ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...

''.East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church website
She is a long-standing professional Life Balance coach who developed an individualized three-month coaching process designed to empower one to discover a life worth living by embracing the life one is truly called to.

Bibliography

* 2002 - ''We Can Do Together: Impressions of a Recovering Feminist First Lady'' (

Kent State University Press Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses ...

)

References

Other sources: * ''Women Find a Way: the Movement and Stories of Roman Catholic WomenPriests''; edited by Elsie Hainz McGrath, Bridget Mary Meehan &

Ida Raming Ida Raming (born August 10, 1932 in Fürstenau, Germany) is a German author, teacher and theologian. Life After school Raming studied Catholic theology, German and pedagogy at the University of Münster and the University of Freiburg. She fini ...

; * ''Making Waves'', a play / oral history project by Kay Eaton and Cece Miller of Sacred Space in Cleveland, OH, includes a reading of the career of Dagmar Celeste

External links

Roman Catholic Womenpriests

Tyrian Network Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celeste, Dagmar Braun 1942 births American non-fiction writers Austrian emigrants to the United States Austrian Roman Catholics American Roman Catholics Capital University alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Christian feminist theologians First Ladies and Gentlemen of Ohio Living people Methodist Theological School in Ohio alumni People excommunicated by the Catholic Church People from Krems an der Donau