Invited by Bishop Thomas Becker to serve the elderly of low income in Delaware, the Little Sisters of the Poor opened their first home in Wilmington on May 18, 1903. The sisters are an international congregation of Roman Catholic women religious founded in 1839 by Saint Jeanne Jugan. Together with a diverse network of collaborators, they serve the elderly poor in over 30 countries around the world.
Bishop Malooly told the gathering the sisters have made the impact of a lifetime for so many people “serving others, the aged poor, anyone who needs help in the aging process.”
The bishop took from Isaiah to draw comparison to the mission of the sisters. “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free.”
The bishop said he had asked a resident how they like being at Jeanne Jugan and got the response “I love it.”
“I’m never afraid to ask that question here,” the bishop said.
“They do great work,” Bishop Malooly said of the sisters. “It’s the spirit that is so much a part of what they do.”