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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mayor Chris Coleman and City Council President Kathy Lantry to Proclaim April 8, 2008 as “Little Sisters of the Poor Day”
Kick- Off Event Celebrating 125 Years of the Catholic Order’s Service in Twin Cities
St. Paul, MN March 31, 2008 – This year the Little Sisters of the Poor are celebrating their 125th year of service to the elderly poor in the Twin Cities with a series of events. The organization will be granting interviews to any interested members of the media regarding their history, mission and stories. The organization, moreover, invites photo opportunities for any media outlet interested.
Events
These events provide relevant time pegs for editors and reporters:
- St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman will make a proclamation declaring April 8th as Little Sisters of the Poor Day in St. Paul at 10:30am.
-Little Sisters of the Poor benefit dinner, commemorating their 125th Anniversary, will be held on May 1st at the Saint Paul Hotel. Social hour begins at 6:00pm and dinner will be served at 7:00. Tickets are $125.00 per person.
-Archbishop Harry Flynn will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of Saint Paul on June 8th at 2:00 p.m., followed by an open house, where all community is welcome, at Holy Family Residence on 330 Exchange Street South.
-The Hillcrest Golf Club of St. Paul will host the inaugural “Swinging Habits” fundraiser golf tournament on September 29th. The tournament begins at noon and all proceeds will go to the St. Paul branch of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Fees include $50.00 for dinner only, or $200.00 for golf, lunch and dinner. The event includes a lunch buffet, a four-person scramble dinner buffet, and silent and live auction following golf. Sign up on the web at www.golfdigestplanner.com/4135-SwingingHabits/index.html or call Jeanie Greene at 651.227.0336.
Brief History of the Organization
The Little Sisters of the poor began in 1839 in France amid poor economic conditions when Jeanne Jugan, the Mother Foundress, carried Anne Chauvin, a blind elderly woman, into her home and cared for her. Thereafter, Jeanne and her three companions began a tradition that continues in St. Paul today: caring for the elderly poor. That tradition, however, was not easy to uphold and Jeanne needed support for the organization. So she started begging door to door—a practice which persists in St. Paul today. There were 177 homes with 2,400 Little Sisters serving over 20,500 elderly poor when Jeanne passed away on August 29, 1879.
Shortly after Jeanne’s death the Little Sisters brought their mission to St. Paul. In 1883 Bishops Thomas Grace and John Ireland invited the Little Sisters of the Poor to establish a home for the elderly poor of St. Paul. The organization purchased a piece of property on Wilkin Street with two buildings on it in 1883, where the Little Sisters cared for 14 men and 6 women, operating on an annual budget of $6,000. By 1885, those numbers increased to 63 women and 33 men, many of them immigrants who just arrived to the area. The old building was demolished in 1889 and the organization built a new home to accommodate the growing population of residents in their care, then 200 people. The organization established a second home in February 1889 when an unidentified benefactor donated the site of St. Joseph’s Home at 214 Broadway NE, Minneapolis, to the Little Sisters.
The organization grew since 1900. In the 1970s, the Little Sisters consolidated the Minneapolis and St. Paul homes, rebuilding one home on Exchange Street, near Irvine Park, out of which they currently operate. All told, the Little Sisters of the Poor have served thousands of elderly poor residents in the Twin Cities and the surrounding areas.
Little Sisters Today
As stated, the Little Sisters of the Poor care for the needy elderly. It is an international, not-for-profit organization with over 200 homes in at least 30 countries. In Minnesota, the organization currently offers various services out of their Holy Family Residence, near West 7th Street. They now serve over 100 elderly residents and operate on an annual budget of more than $7 million, 70 percent are contributions from their generous friends and benefactors. The residents are both independent seniors and seniors who require intensive assistance. The independent seniors live in the Jeanne Jugan Apartments while the Holy Family Residence offers a nursing home setting for seniors in need of care. The average resident is 89 years old.
The Little Sisters are thriving worldwide and in St. Paul, they are experiencing an increase of interest from young women who are discerning a religious vocation.
Above all, the organization would like their legacy in St. Paul to continue. “Without the support of the people of Minnesota, we wouldn’t be here,” said Sister Rosario Flor.
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Contact:
Mother Superior
Litter Sisters of the Poor
330 South Exchange Street South
St. Paul, MN 55102
651-227-0336
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www.littlesistersofthepoor.org |
