SAINT: St Jeanne Jugan – 30 August

By Heather Excell

Born in Brittany, France, in 1792 amid the French Revolution, St Jeanne Jugan’s life began in a period of hardship. Violence was common, begging was the way of life for many, and openly practicing your faith often led to imprisonment and death.

By the time she was four years old, Jeanne’s father was lost at sea, leaving her mother to raise the family through whatever work she could find. As a devout Catholic herself, Jeanne’s mother quietly ensured that, despite the danger, her children received faith formation and learned to trust in God’s providence through every trial.

From an early age Jeanne worked to support her family. With little formal education, she learned through hands-on experience, serving in wealthy households and later in hospitals.

Through it all, she developed an extraordinary love for God and those most in need, sensing that the Lord had a special purpose for her life, and trusting that he would reveal it in time.

In 1837, Jeanne rented a modest attic apartment and formed an informal community of prayer. The women supported themselves through laundry work while spending their spare time catechising children and assisting the poor.

On a cold winters evening in 1839, Jeanne came across an elderly woman who was blind, paralysed and abandoned. Moved by her suffering, Jeanne carried the woman to her small apartment, placed her in her own bed, and took the attic for herself. That single act of compassion became the spark that ignited a worldwide mission.

As word spread, more elderly people in need arrived at Jeanne’s door, and young women came to help care for them. Soon, the small community outgrew its apartment, and Jeanne purchased an old, run-down convent where she soon provided care for 40 elderly people. The community became the Little Sisters of the Poor, and relied entirely on God’s providence.

Jeanne’s greatest trial came from within her own congregation. Although she was the founder, she was removed from leadership and spent the final 27 years of her life living quietly in the motherhouse.

She was largely unknown to the younger sisters, many of whom did not realise until after her death that she had founded their community. Living in their midst, Jeanne transmitted a constant spirit of praise, and accepted her hidden suffering with humility, never seeking recognition or defending herself.

When Jeanne died in 1879, the Little Sisters of the Poor had grown to 2,400 Little Sisters, serving in 177 homes across three continents.

St Jeanne Jugan shows us that when we entrust ourselves completely to God, and place the needs of others before our own, even the smallest act of mercy can bear extraordinary fruit.

St Jeanne Jugan, pray for us.