Kathleen Kozlowski Okray | Special to The Michigan Catholic



Lake Orion — Breege Regan-Kelly still answers her lifelong calling to help others. After serving as a public health nurse for nearly 40 years, she retired a decade ago. After keeping a busy pace for so many years, she discovered the slower pace was not for her. She soon grew restless.

“After six months, I realized that I needed to get a job, I was dumbing down so fast that soon I would be unable to talk to people. You can’t let your mind go dull,” Regan-Kelly said. So rather than retire, she began searching for a second career.

And the Holy Spirit had a plan. “The thought kept coming into my head, ‘I need to start a Catholic bookstore.’ When I lived in Royal Oak, I went to a wonderful Catholic bookstore in Berkley, St. Patrick. I loved it there, loved that connection; and being able to look at the books. I went to the Madonna Store in Waterford after that, and I miss that store. I wanted to build that connection to the community here, in northern Oakland County,” she said.

The Celtic Cove was already operating as an Irish import gift store. Regan-Kelly, a native of County Leitrin, Ireland, was intrigued by the name. “I would drive past this store regularly, and eventually I came in and met the owners. I fell in love with it, and I said to them, without any preparation or planning, that I would love to start a Catholic bookstore.”

The store owner at that time was encouraging. “She told me there are lots of places in town; it would be fun to work together. A few months later, she called me and asked if I was still interested in starting a Catholic bookstore. I had looked around the area a bit, but had not acted. She told me that they had reduced their inventory, and now had some space, that she offered to share. And so it began,” she added with a chuckle.

The first challenge was to build her inventory of books. “I had some knowledge of some of the companies who printed the books, but I had no knowledge of the vendor relationship, and how to build them,” Regan-Kelly recalled. “Bit by bit, I had to learn. It took me a while; it was a slow start. Over a year and a half, I grew my inventory, and when the owners were ready to move on to other things, I was ready to buy them out, and take over.”

At first, her wares were basically Irish crystal, Belleek china and other imports in addition to her faith-based books.

“One day a lady came in and said, ‘You are not going to make it if you focus solely on books. It was a good idea, and I took her advice,” Regan-Kelly said.

She soon began stocking rosaries, medals and scapulars, in addition to items relevant to the current Church season or sacraments. Although Celtic Cove has a website, it is not an Internet shopping site, but informational. “Thank goodness people still like to flip through pages, and hold items in their hands before they make their choice,” she said.

Regan-Kelly loves interacting with her customers, and is not only open to their opinions, but also their needs and concerns.

“My customers are varied; young mothers, their children, adults who want to grow in their faith. I keep Bibles, Catechisms and the other basic books of the Church in stock. When a Church season, such as Lent, starts, I discount those books to encourage people to come in and buy. I can feel that the economy is really holding people back, and they are a bit nervous about what they spend. My goal is to get this material in people’s hands so they will have the help they need to grow in holiness, learn about their faith, and live it,” she explained, adding with a laugh, “I never make money, and I will always be in debt.”

Noted local authors such as Teresa Tomeo and Cheryl Dickow share the shelf space with C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton, among others. And Irish blessing signs, Celtic crosses, and items to honor St. Patrick year-round are also available, along with music CDs and sacrament-themed gifts.

A born shop-keeper and advocate for Catholicism, Regan-Kelly loves to share her lifelong faith with her customers, and credits them with providing her with motivation.

“The stories you hear — sad stories, stories that inspire you — it is incredible what you hear, how people share what God is doing in their lives,” she said. “It keeps you on a high all day long, and makes my work worthwhile.”

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