If you’ve seen a Little Sister of the Poor, you may remember them holding a bucket or basket at the door of a local church.
The local sisters — who care for the elderly poor at St. Joseph’s Home in Louisville — support their mission by begging on behalf of those they serve, said Mother Mary Richard in a recent interview.
It’s a tradition that started with their foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, who cared for needy elderly women in her own home.
St. Jeanne Jugan “realized she could not support them with what she had been doing for a living,” said Mother Mary Richard.
That’s when a brother from the religious order of the Brothers of St. John of God “gave her her first basket” and told her to “go out and beg in the community.”
The tradition of begging is important to the sisters’ mission and has been “carried on in every home of the congregation since 1839,” she said.
“God will give you a little bit here and there, a little bit of sweetness to make you continue to trust”
— Sister John Elise
But begging looks different now than it did during St. Jeanne Jugan’s time, when sisters went from door to door. Now the sisters go out into the community, often making appeals in parishes, businesses and to donors.
“In the modern day, the residents that we accept in our homes are all eligible for Medicaid. But Medicaid only covers maybe half of our expenses; so, the other half has to be made up,” said Mother Mary Richard.
The tradition of begging benefits those who give, as well, she noted.
“When people donate and make sacrifices, it’s good for their souls, too,” she said. The sisters also pray for their benefactors and offer Masses for their intentions, she added.
Through their practice of begging, the sisters also experience God’s providence, they said in recent interviews.
Recently, Sister John Elise, who serves as the “begging sister” in the Louisville community, wrote to a donor, asking if they would consider donating $15,000 for a landscaping project at St. Joseph Home, she said.
The donor replied that they could help — but that instead of $15,000, they would give $20,000.
When she brought the good news to Mother Mary Richard, she learned that the original proposal of $15,000 was for the trees; another $5,000 was needed for the irrigation.
The donor’s gift was “providential,” she said.
Just the other day, she added, the sisters’ toaster broke. She “didn’t even think of begging for it,” but then a donor gave her a toaster, she said.
“God will give you a little bit here and there, a little bit of sweetness to make you continue to trust,” she said.
The sisters learn trust in providence from their foundress, said Sister John Elise.
“In Jeanne Jugan’s time — the mother foundress — a sister came and told her, … ‘We have no more butter and the bread is so dry for the old people.’ So she said, ‘Put whatever you have left in front of Saint Joseph.’ ”
Shortly after, a donation of butter arrived, she said. “You just have to really trust God, that he will provide.”
Sister Mary Emilie, who previously served as a “begging sister,” said she was struck by people’s generosity during her time begging.
On one occasion, an individual gave “the last bit of money” they had for their lunch, even when she protested, telling them to save it, she said.
On another occasion, when she was at a parish begging after Mass, a child decided he wanted to give the sisters the money in his piggy bank, she said.
“It was terrible weather; it was raining so hard,” she said. But the father took his son home to get the piggy bank and come back to the church, she said. “You just admire the parent and the child, who wants to give everything he has.”
To learn more about the Little Sisters of the Poor, visit littlesistersofthepoorlouisville.org.
