Little Sisters of The Poor
Her heart was as big as the ocean. Born in a coastal town in Brittany, France in 1792, Jeanne Jugan knew poverty and hard work at an early age. As a young woman she left home to care for the sick in a nearby hospital. She was particularly sensitive to the needs of the elderly poor, who were often abandoned and forced to resort to begging in the streets. One winters evening in 1839, Jeanne opened her home and her heart to an elderly blind woman who suddenly found herself alone. Jeanne gave up her bed for her and the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor was born.
Today the Little Sisters of the Poor continue Jeanne Jugan’s founding gesture of hospitality in thirty-one countries around the world, in places as far away as Australia and as close as Baltimore. As in the time of our foundress, we rely on Divine Providence-which manifests itself through the generosity of our benefactors-in order to provide for the needs of the elderly poor.
Thank you for being a part of this great wave of charity, which began in the heart of Jeanne Jugan and now extends to the ends of the earth!