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Who we are

As Little Sisters of the Poor we are women called by God to follow Christ as our only necessity. We seek him in faith, hope and charity, discover him in prayer and everyday life, and serve him with love in the person of the elderly poor.

Our fourth vow of hospitality brings to perfection the total gift of ourselves to the Lord. Consecrated hospitality bears witness to the merciful tenderness of the Father and enables us to continue the compassionate love of the heart of Christ in our contemporary world.

We wear our religious habit as a reminder to ourselves that we belong totally to God and as a public witness of our consecration, of Gospel poverty and of God’s presence in the world.

If you want to learn more about becoming a Little Sister, please contact Sr. Dora by calling (502)636-2300 or emailing vclouisville@littlesistersofthepoor.org.

Saint Jeanne Jugan, our foundress, gave us a rich spirituality characterized by:

  • Christ-centeredness
  • Gospel simplicity according to the spirit of the Beatitudes
  • Marian spirituality: “To come to the heart of Mary is to come to Jesus.”
  • A strong family spirit, together with a sense of solidarity and universality
  • Trust in God’s Providence to provide for all of our needs
  • A strong devotion to Saint Joseph, patron and protector of our Congregation

Daily Prayer

  • Daily Mass with our Sisters and the elderly
  • Liturgy of the Hours sung in community (morning, evening and night prayer)
  • Daily meditation, made together each morning
  • A half-hour visit to the Blessed Sacrament each day
  • Daily recitation of the rosary
  • Lectio Divina and spiritual reading
  • Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis
  • Habits of silence which help us cultivate intimacy with God. Our meals are usually taken in silence.
  • We also enjoy several moments of retreat throughout the year to refresh ourselves at the fountain of God’s love.

Community Life: A Shared Vocation

Believing that Christ has called us and gathered us together, each day we cross cultural and generational boundaries to form one family in the Lord.

We come from all over the world to share a common vocation and witness to God’s love. The shared communion between us is the source of great apostolic energy.

Jesus Christ – present in the Eucharist and served in the person of the elderly poor – is the center and source of our unity.

Hospitality: Service to the Elderly

By our fourth vow of hospitality, we promise God to consecrate ourselves totally to the service of the elderly poor. We serve them day and night, striving to meet their physical needs, to make them happy and to minister to them spiritually.

Our lives are made up of many humble, hidden tasks. We accomplish our mission together as a community, each one bringing her gifts and talents to the work of hospitality.

Continuing the work of Saint Jeanne Jugan, our mission offers the neediest elderly of every race and religion a Home where they will be welcomed as Christ, cared for as family and accompanied with dignity until God calls them to himself.

Our Mission

The accompaniment and care of the dying is the summit of our vocation. It is a powerful witness of the culture of life.

Are You Being Called to Religious Life?

Jesus replied to the disciples’ question, “Lord, where do you live?” by responding, “Come and See,” inviting the disciples to share in his life and mission.

Has God gifted you with a love for the poor and a desire to know Him more deeply?

Do you sense a call that is persistent and irresistible?

He may be offering you the precious gift of a vocation to consecrated life. Listen to what is deepest in your heart.

The Little Sisters of the Poor care for the needy elderly, offering them a Home in which they can feel respected, safe and loved as they journey toward eternal life.

Today, where euthanasia is promoted as a life choice, the elderly are more and more vulnerable. This makes our vocation more relevant than ever.

To encounter Christ in prayer, to serve Him in the poor with love – that is the life of a Little Sister of the Poor and the source of our joy!

Saint Jeanne Jugan often said, “It is a great grace God has given you in asking you to serve the poor!”

On the occasion of the canonization of our foundress, Saint Jeanne Jugan, Pope Benedict XVI said, “This event will show once again how living faith is prodigious in good works and how sanctity is a healing balm for the wounds of humankind.”

If you want to learn more about becoming a Little Sister, please contact Sr. Dora by calling (502)636-2300 or emailing vclouisville@littlesistersofthepoor.org.

To learn more about the Little Sisters of the Poor:

  1. Check out our national website www.littlesistersofthepoor.org
  2. Volunteer some of your time with the elderly in our Home
  3. Come and pray in our chapel: Mass, Rosary, Liturgy, Eucharistic Adoration
  4. Attend one of our discernment retreats
  5. Read our Holy Father’s message on vocations

Saint Jeanne Jugan, said it this way, “Never forget that the poor are Our Lord. In caring for the poor say to yourself: This is for my Jesus – what a great grace!”