Photos of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Saint Louis Residence

HERE ARE PHOTOS of the Saint Louis Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, located in the Saint Louis Place neighborhood in the northern part of the City. I happened upon this place by accident, being on assignment to take photos nearby.



The Little Sisters of the Poor have been helping the elderly in Saint Louis since 1869. They provide help to the elderly poor without regard to religion or ethnicity, in accord with the immemorial doctrine of the Church of loving one's neighbor.



This residence dates from 1971, and according to its website, has a full-time chaplain who offers daily Mass and Rosary.

In addition to the religious vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, the Sisters also take a fourth vow of hospitality. The Liturgy of the Hours is prayed in community three times a day, along with the Holy Mass.

The Sisters are found in 32 countries, and have 34 communities in the United States.

Blessed Jeanne Jugan
Foundress of
the Little Sisters of the Poor
1792-1879

Saint Jeanne Jugan was beatified on October 3, 1982 by Pope John Paul II, and was canonized October 11, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. Her feast day is August 30^th.

Saint Jeanne Jugan was born in 1792 in Brittany. From the Sister's website:

Jeanne Jugan grew up in a small town in revolutionary France. Times were tough. Violence ruled the day. For thousands, begging was a way of life.

Those who openly practiced their faith were not merely ridiculed—they were imprisoned or killed. Jeanne received her faith formation—secretly and at great risk—from her mother and a group of women who belonged to an ecclesial movement of the day.

By the time Jeanne was four years old her father had been lost at sea. Her mother found odd jobs to make ends meet. Neighbor helped neighbor. As a young girl Jeanne worked as a shepherdess. She learned to knit and spin wool. Later she went to work as a kitchen maid for a wealthy family...

Jeanne barely learned to read and write. Her education consisted mostly of on-the-job training in the school of real life. Neither beautiful nor talented in the usual sense, she was gifted with an extraordinary heart. Jeanne was on fire with love for God!

Those who let themselves be seized by the love of Christ cannot help abandoning everything to follow him… Barely out of her teens, Jeanne felt the call of divine love. Preparing to leave home, she told her mother “God wants me for himself. He is keeping me for a work which is not yet founded.”

Jeanne took the road less traveled, setting out to work among the poor and forsaken in a local hospital...

Many years went by before Jeanne discovered her vocation. Finally, one cold winter night she met Jesus Christ in the person of an elderly, blind and infirm woman who had no one to care for her. Jeanne carried the woman home, climbed up the stairs to her small apartment and placed her in her own bed. From then on, Jeanne would sleep in the attic.

God led more poor old people to her doorstep. Generous young women came to help. Like Jeanne, they wanted to make a difference. Like her, they believed that “the poor are Our Lord.” A religious community was born!

There were so many old people in need of a home, so many souls hungry for love! The work rapidly spread across France and beyond. Struck by their spirit of humble service, local citizens dubbed the group the Little Sisters of the Poor. The name stuck!

For herself Jeanne chose the religious name Sister Mary of the Cross. She would live it in its fullness.…

The work of the Little Sisters continued to spread, borne by the wind of the Spirit. So did Jeanne’s renown—until one day she was mysteriously cast aside by an ambitious priest who had taken over the direction of the young community.

Jeanne was replaced as superior and sent out begging on behalf of the poor. And then one day she was placed in retirement, relegated to the shadows. At the time of her death 27 years later, the young Little Sisters didn’t even know that she was the foundress.

Jeanne had often told them, “We are grafted into the cross and we must carry it joyfully unto death.” How she lived these words! What a radiant example of holiness she gave to generations of Little Sisters!

Here is an anecdote on the spirit of the Saint:

Once when Jugan begged a young man for money, he hit her on the face. She replied with calmness, “You gave that to me, now give me something for the elderly.” The man was astounded by the sweetness of her reply and with all his heart he gave her all the money he had at that time.

St. Louis
King of France

Father of your people
Please continue to protect
our home which has been
under your patronage
since May 3, 1869

In memory of
John C. & Agnes E. Martin

Hy Stuckstede B F Co
St. Louis MO
1903

J.M.J
Donated by
John-Edward
and Herman Grone
In memory
of their parents
Henry & Adelaide Grone

The Stuckstede family of Saint Louis operated bell foundries from 1855 to 1961, and was the largest producer of bells in the western United States; hundreds of their bells can still be found in the Saint Louis region. The Grones mentioned here owned a brewery and a soda water company.

Underneath the bell a plaque reads:

In 1903
This bell was first hung
in the tower of
The Little Sisters of the Poor
3400 South Grand Avenue
It was moved to this location
May 4, 1989

The old location of the Sisters is at the corner of Grand and Gravois and is now a Schnucks market. However, the old stone wall from the property can still be seen there.

St. Michael
The Archangel
Defend Us in Battle

Jesus falls the second time.

Address:
3225 North Florissant Avenue
St Louis, Missouri 63107