Born in Durham, England, in 1943, Bell attended Leeds and received a doctorate from Oxford in 1971; he devoted his adult scholarly life to Cistercian Studies. Rare was his mastery of early modern Cisterciensia as well as the medieval patrimony of the movement. Several of Bell's works were on the Trappist abbot de Rancé. Bell was married to Terryl N. Kinder, also an authority on Cistercian history. He taught at Memorial University of Newfoundland, publishing 34 books and hundreds of articles. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He was Anglican and served as a deacon at the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Here is the obituary Terryl Kinder wrote for her husband.

The photograph shows Céline and Thérèse posing together before the performance of a play about Joan of Arc. Thérèse wrote the play for her convent community. The performance was held as a gift in honor of their older sister, Mother Agnes of Jesus, also a nun at Lisieux.
​Such plays were often performed in the days and weeks before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, because Lent is an ascetic season, a time in which plays and entertainment are to be reduced. Even today, Mardi Gras is a time of theatrical performance in monasteries. 
This photo is a valuable document that shows nuns wearing costumes over their habits, and wigs over their veils!