diff --git a/cms/__init__.py b/cms/__init__.py
index fd763b62c236..e022c752acaf 100644
--- a/cms/__init__.py
+++ b/cms/__init__.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import kombu.utils
 kombu.utils.entrypoints = lambda namespace: iter([])
 
-# This will make sure the app is always imported when
-# Django starts so that shared_task will use this app.
+# This will make sure the app is always imported when Django starts so
+# that shared_task will use this app, and also ensures that the celery
+# singleton is always configured for the CMS.
 from .celery import APP as CELERY_APP
diff --git a/cms/celery.py b/cms/celery.py
index 046760436bf8..7936d04fe3d6 100644
--- a/cms/celery.py
+++ b/cms/celery.py
@@ -8,20 +8,12 @@
 
 import os
 
-from celery import Celery
-
 from openedx.core.lib.celery.routers import AlternateEnvironmentRouter
 
-# set the default Django settings module for the 'celery' program.
+# Set the default Django settings module for the 'celery' program
+# and then instantiate the Celery singleton.
 os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'cms.envs.production')
-
-APP = Celery('proj')
-
-APP.conf.task_protocol = 1
-# Using a string here means the worker will not have to
-# pickle the object when using Windows.
-APP.config_from_object('django.conf:settings')
-APP.autodiscover_tasks()
+from openedx.core.lib.celery import APP  # pylint: disable=wrong-import-position,unused-import
 
 # Import after autodiscovery has had a chance to connect to the import_module signal
 # so celery doesn't miss any apps getting installed.
diff --git a/lms/__init__.py b/lms/__init__.py
index 5508a6a75c32..2481eb2689b4 100644
--- a/lms/__init__.py
+++ b/lms/__init__.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 import kombu.utils
 kombu.utils.entrypoints = lambda namespace: iter([])
 
-# This will make sure the app is always imported when
-# Django starts so that shared_task will use this app.
+# This will make sure the app is always imported when Django starts so
+# that shared_task will use this app, and also ensures that the celery
+# singleton is always configured for the LMS.
 from .celery import APP as CELERY_APP
diff --git a/lms/celery.py b/lms/celery.py
index dd9a23a8cf8b..7f4c44c9b2eb 100644
--- a/lms/celery.py
+++ b/lms/celery.py
@@ -8,20 +8,12 @@
 
 import os
 
-from celery import Celery
-
 from openedx.core.lib.celery.routers import AlternateEnvironmentRouter
 
-# set the default Django settings module for the 'celery' program.
+# Set the default Django settings module for the 'celery' program
+# and then instantiate the Celery singleton.
 os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'lms.envs.production')
-
-APP = Celery('proj')
-
-APP.conf.task_protocol = 1
-# Using a string here means the worker will not have to
-# pickle the object when using Windows.
-APP.config_from_object('django.conf:settings')
-APP.autodiscover_tasks()
+from openedx.core.lib.celery import APP  # pylint: disable=wrong-import-position,unused-import
 
 
 class Router(AlternateEnvironmentRouter):
diff --git a/openedx/core/lib/celery/__init__.py b/openedx/core/lib/celery/__init__.py
index e69de29bb2d1..855970c1df3e 100644
--- a/openedx/core/lib/celery/__init__.py
+++ b/openedx/core/lib/celery/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+"""Instantiate the singleton Celery instance that is used by either lms or cms.
+
+WARNING: Do not import this module directly!
+
+This module should only be imported by cms.celery and lms.celery, which perform
+setup in a particular order before and after Celery is instantiated. Otherwise,
+it might be possible for the Celery singleton to be created without variant-
+specific configuration.
+
+The module is intended as a way to have a Celery singleton shared between cms
+and lms code. Not having a guaranteed singleton means that it is possible for
+each of cms and lms to instantiate Celery, and tasks may be nondeterministically
+registered to one or the other of the instances and therefore sometimes lost
+to the running process. The root ``__init__.py``s of cms and lms both ensure that
+this module is loaded when any cms or lms code runs, effectively using the
+Python module system as a singleton loader. (This is an incremental improvement
+over older code, and there is probably a better mechanism to be had.)
+"""
+
+from celery import Celery
+
+# WARNING: Do not refer to this unless you are cms.celery or
+# lms.celery. See module docstring!
+APP = Celery('proj')
+
+APP.conf.task_protocol = 1
+# Using a string here means the worker will not have to
+# pickle the object when using Windows.
+APP.config_from_object('django.conf:settings')
+APP.autodiscover_tasks()