Bishop Malooly receives the gifts from Sister Therese Goecke, Lynn Keating, and Sr. Joanne Goecke during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Dialog photo/Don Blake
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.”
Mother Margaret Regina at Mass on July 18 celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly and Mother Superior, Mother Margaret Regina, check out the display of locations that the Little Sisters of the Poor serve the community during the 150th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America last July. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly blesses the host with a banner depicting the Little Sisters of the Poor on display during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Photo/Don Blake
The sisters and residents sit together during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Photo/Don Blake
Eileen Fox and Vicki Mulcahy bring flowers to the altar during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Photo/Don Blake
Sr. Francis Catherine lights the candles on the altar last July during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly blesses a statue of St. Jeanne Jugan during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly receives the gifts from Sr. Therese Goecke, Lynn Keating, and Sr. Joanne Goecke during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Photo/Don Blake
Mother Superior Margaret Regina brings a relic to the altar with Cindy Gilfillan during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America in July 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake