St. Jeanne Jugan

Saint Jeanne Jugan founded the Little Sisters of the Poor through a simple act of hospitality toward an elderly woman. Her work in nineteenth-century France grew into a religious community dedicated to older people without adequate support.

Raised in difficult circumstances after her father's death at sea, Jeanne worked in domestic service and a hospital. In the winter of 1839 she brought a blind, disabled elderly woman into her home and gave her her own bed. Other women needing shelter soon followed.

Companions joined the work, and larger accommodation became necessary. The community eventually adopted the name Little Sisters of the Poor. Jeanne, known in religion as Mary of the Cross, sought the resources needed to sustain this growing household through appeals for assistance.

She was later displaced from leadership and spent her final decades at the motherhouse, where many younger sisters did not know she was the founder. After her death in 1879, archival research and testimony restored that history. Canonized in 2009, she is remembered for both the practical beginnings of the congregation and the quiet fidelity with which she continued after public recognition had been taken away.

The Little Sisters identify two particular influences on Jeanne's spirituality and working methods. From the teaching of John Eudes she learned to understand Christian life as continuing Christ's life and virtues. From the Brothers of Saint John of God she learned practical ways to seek donations for people in need.

The congregation also connects John of God's tradition with its fourth vow of hospitality. This gives a more precise institutional meaning to a word that can sound like ordinary friendliness. Hospitality became a sustained religious responsibility toward residents, supported by the participation of donors. Jeanne's work grew through receiving and adapting earlier examples, as well as through her own founding initiative.