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The
Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor, an international
institute, was founded in France in 1839, when Blessed Jeanne
Jugan opened her home to Jesus Christ in the person of an
elderly, poor, blind woman.
Today Little Sisters
care for the aged poor in homes in thirty-one countries around
the world, with thirty-one homes located in North America. The
care of the elderly, the congregation's sole apostolate, is
sealed by a special fourth vow of hospitality. The spirit of the
congregation is the evangelical spirit expressed by Jesus in the
Beatitudes. Mindful of the words of their foundress, "Never
forget that the poor are Our Lord," the Little Sisters continue
her charism and desire that their hospitaller mission of humble
service, exercised in the name of the Church, be a sign of the
compassionate love and mercy of God. Sisters to the elderly who
are journeying towards the Kingdom, the Little Sisters witness
to the primacy of eternal values and to respect for life, of
which God alone is the master.
Catholic women aged
18-40, who seek a life of prayer, fraternal sharing and humble
service, may seek entrance. The formation program includes an
initial two-year novitiate and an international second
novitiate, spent at the Motherhouse in France, in preparation
for perpetual profession. The American novitiate is located in
Queens Village, NY.
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