Jeanne Jugan

Jeanne Jugan, known in religion as Mary of the Cross, was a French Catholic religious sister and the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Born on October 25, 1792, in Cancale, Brittany, she lived through the tumultuous period of the French Revolution. Her early life was marked by hardship; her father, a fisherman, was lost at sea, and her mother worked to provide for her eight children while secretly imparting religious instruction amidst anti-Catholic persecutions.

Jugan's commitment to the poor began early. She worked as a shepherdess, learned to knit and spin, and later served as a kitchen maid to a viscountess who involved her in visiting the sick and poor. After declining marriage proposals, she felt a divine calling to "a work which is not yet founded." She became an Associate of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary and worked as a nurse. For twelve years, she served a fellow member of the Eudist Third Order, and together they cared for the poor and taught catechism.

Founding the Little Sisters of the Poor

In 1837, Jugan, along with two other women, formed a Catholic community dedicated to prayer, catechism, and assisting the poor. Her pivotal act of charity occurred in the winter of 1839 when she took in Anne Chauvin, a blind and paralyzed elderly woman. This act of compassion led to her taking in more elderly women in need. By 1841, she had rented a room to house a dozen elderly people, and the following year, she acquired an unused convent building.

With the approval of her colleagues, Jugan focused her mission on assisting abandoned elderly women, giving rise to the religious congregation known as The Little Sisters of the Poor. She wrote a simple Rule of Life for the community, and they began to solicit food, clothing, and money by going door-to-door. This became her life's work, and by the end of the 1840s, she had established four more homes for the elderly through begging. She also established a house in Tours at the request of Leo Dupont.

Later Life and Legacy

By 1850, over 100 women had joined the congregation. However, Jeanne Jugan was removed from her leadership role by Abbé Auguste Le Pailleur, who appointed her to street begging and later sent her into retirement for 27 years. Despite this, the Little Sisters of the Poor continued to expand, reaching England in 1851 and establishing communities across the United States from 1866 to 1871. By the time of her death on August 29, 1879, at the age of 86, the congregation had 2,400 sisters and had spread across Europe and North America.

Although many of the Little Sisters did not know she was the foundress at the time of her death, Le Pailleur was later investigated and dismissed in 1890, leading to Jugan's acknowledgment as their foundress. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1982, and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Today, pilgrims can visit significant sites from her life, including her birthplace and the motherhouse where she spent her last years. The Jeanne Jugan Award continues to honor staff members who exemplify her spirit of service.