Quick Facts about the Little Sisters of the Poor

• The Little Sisters of the Poor are a Roman Catholic congregation of women religious caring for the elderly poor in 31 countries around the world.

• The Congregation was founded by Saint Jeanne Jugan in Brittany, France, in 1839.

• The first American Little Sisters home was established in Brooklyn, N.Y. in September 1868.

• Today, over 2,500 Little Sisters serve 13,000 elderly residents in 195 homes worldwide.

• Thirty of these homes are in the United States.

• In the past 10 years, new homes have been founded in the following countries: India, Peru, Colombia and the Philippines.

• Saint Jeanne Jugan was known by the begging basket she used to collect alms for the poor. The Little Sisters continue the practice of begging as their primary means of fund raising.

• The Little Sisters keep a constant vigil with the dying, striving to assure that no one dies alone. A Little Sister is often the last person an elderly resident sees before meeting God face to face.

• In addition to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, the Little Sisters profess a fourth vow of hospitality, by which they promise God to devote their lives exclusively to the elderly poor.