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Overview
Saint Celestine is a Living Saint of the Adepta Sororitas, a winged warrior of fire and faith whom the Imperial faithful believe the Emperor returns to life whenever she falls. Her twin bodyguards, the Geminae Superia, fight beside her. In the Era Indomitus she has become one of the Imperium's great symbols of hope.
She wields the Ardent Blade and wears the Armour of Saint Katherine, and her Geminae Superia are themselves said to be resurrected Sisters. She appears whenever the Imperium is at its most desperate. Her presence inspires faith in soldiers and civilians alike, and she has become a central figure of the Imperial Cult in the Era Indomitus. Saint Celestine, the Living Saint of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, is believed to have died and returned many times as the Emperor's tool. As a mortal, she was thought to have died fighting the Renegade Warmaster of Forrax. Since then she has reappeared to rescue Imperial forces in their darkest hour. Her greatest intervention came on Cadia, and the Imperial survivors there formed the Celestinian Crusade in her name.
Origins
Little is known of her life before sainthood. She was a Sister Repentia of the Order of Our Martyred Lady during the Palatine Schism wars, and was thought killed before the capital of the heretics' world. Since then she has returned again and again.
Her death against the heretic Warmaster of Forrax became the founding legend of her cult, and later sightings across centuries suggested she could not truly die. Whether her returns are the Emperor's will or something stranger is debated even within the Ecclesiarchy. Her memories of earlier lives are partial, adding to her mystery.
She was proclaimed a saint during the Palatine Crusade. Lord Militant Ansgar expected the crusade to end at the sector capital, but Celestine insisted on first freeing the small backwater world of Sanctus Lys. Only she knew that it held a shrine of Saint Katherine of the Order of the Fiery Heart, visited in secret by that saint shortly before her death. Celestine had a broken altar in the ruins removed, uncovering a crypt, and went down alone. After her apotheosis, Ansgar and a conclave of Thorian priests declared her a Living Saint, the 'Hieromartyr of the Palatine Crusade'. When she died, the Tower of Heroes on Terra tolled once, and the background says a billion people paused to mourn.
Key events
- Fell in battle against the heretic Warmaster of Forrax, then was sighted on battlefields across the centuries.
- Appeared in the war on Heletine to aid the Sisters and the Salamanders against the Black Legion.
- Returned during the Fall of Cadia and helped evacuate survivors.
- Led the Celestinian Crusade through the webway with Cawl, Greyfax and the Ynnari to resurrect Guilliman on Macragge.
- Joined the Terran Crusade, and later appeared on the drowned hive world Tsadrekha in Imperium Nihilus.
Her returns are brief and decisive. In the Promethean War of 980.M41, the Order of the Ebon Chalice reinforced the Salamanders against the Black Legion on the cardinal world Heletine. Immolators and Land Raider Redeemers burned through the cities until the Daemon Prince Lord Gralastyx sent Possessed against them. Celestine appeared, cut her way to him, drove her blade through his heart and vanished again. On Cadia she arrived over Kasr Kraf with around five companies of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, lost in the warp for fourteen centuries. During the evacuation, Cawl's Iron Revenant sacrificed itself against the Vengeful Spirit so that the Celestinian Crusade could reach Klaisus, the ice moon of Kasr Holn. Her vision there came true when the Ynnari emerged from its hidden Webway gate.
Battles & campaigns
- Forrax: As a mortal, she was believed killed fighting the Renegade Warmaster of Forrax.
- Cadia: She led the defenders during the 13th Black Crusade and then led the survivors.
- Guilliman's revival: She travelled to Macragge with Greyfax and Cawl, where the primarch was brought back to life.
Personality
Serene, compassionate and unbreakable in faith, though her memories of earlier lives are fragmentary.
She is serene in battle, fighting with calm faith rather than rage. She is compassionate toward civilians and soldiers and willing to sacrifice herself for them. Her fragmentary memories leave her somewhat distant, but her faith remains absolute.
Weapons & Vehicles
A master-crafted blade sheathed in a crackling molecular disruption field that parts ceramite, bone and steel with effortless lethality…
A volatile liquid-promethium projector that floods bunkers, trenches and xenos swarms in clinging, self-oxidising gouts of cleansing ch…
The flaming golden greatsword of the Emperor of Mankind, forged through lost science and psychic mastery, now wielded by resurrected Pr…
The signature .75-calibre rocket-propelled mass-reactive firearm of the Adeptus Astartes, firing self-propelled explosive bolts that de…
Jump-pack Battle Sisters who descend on the foe with a pistol in each hand, regarded as the Emperor's angels.
Heavy weapon squads of the Sisters of Battle who bring heavy bolters, multi-meltas and flamers to bear on the Emperor's foes.
Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.
Connections
Characters (7)
Morvenn Vahl venerated by · Adepta SororitasVahl leads the Adepta Sororitas, which venerates Celestine as a Living Saint.
The Emperor of Mankind revered by · Imperium of ManCelestine is venerated as a Living Saint and an emissary of the God-Emperor.
Factions
- Adepta Sororitas primary faction
Related units (2)
Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.
Legacy
Celestine is the Living Saint, whose return in times of crisis has become legend. She is a symbol of faith and of the Emperor's hand in the galaxy, inspiring soldiers and Sisters alike. Celestine's presence gives hope to many in the Imperium, and her role in Guilliman's return links her to the Era Indomitus.
Appearances & sources
- The Gathering Storm I: Fall of Cadia
- The Gathering Storm III: Rise of the Primarch
- Codex: Adepta Sororitas background