Born in Elizabethtown, Illinois, on May 7, 1894, Mary Josephine was the daughter of Henry and Christina Shettler Eckmans. At the age of 20 she entered the novitiate of Mount Saint Joseph. On December 30, 1914, following a six‑month postulancy, Mary Josephine received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Christina.
Her first two mission assignments took Sister Christina to St. William School at Knottsville and St. Anthony School at Browns Valley. Having received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, she attended Fordham University in New York and received her master’s and doctoral degrees from there. Returning to Mount St. Joseph she served as novice mistress for two years. Sister Christina was the longest serving dean of Mount Saint Joseph Junior College, holding that position for 18 years. She spent five years teaching at St. Bernard Academy in Nebraska City, Nebraska, and following that she served at Brescia College in Owensboro for nine years. That was her final assignment.
Sister Christina was found to have a malignancy of the colon in 1961 and underwent surgery for that. After her recuperation, she returned to Brescia College and her work in the education department. In late June 1963 she was admitted to Mercy Hospital in Owensboro for observation and then was admitted to Daviess County Hospital for x‑ray therapy. Returning to Mercy Hospital she had surgery for an obstruction and was given only a few weeks of life expectancy. Death came to Sister Christina on July 25, 1963. Following her wake, vigil and Requiem Mass, she was buried in the convent cemetery.