August 30, 2018, Saint Jeanne Jugan’s feast day, begins a jubilee year marking the 150th anniversary of the Little Sisters of the Poor’s arrival in the United States.
Throughout this year, we will be joining other Little Sisters’ homes around the country in hosting events to honor this important milestone.
A focal point of each celebration will be a traveling “pilgrim” tapestry of the Congregation’s foundress, Saint Jeanne Jugan. This tapestry was created in Belgium by Slabbinck, an internationally known designer of liturgical vestments. The tapestry portrays St. Jeanne Jugan on her collecting rounds in the Breton countryside, with the sea in the background, evoking the great wave of charity to which she gave birth.
Before coming to America, the tapestry was taken on a pilgrimage to St. Jeanne Jugan’s birthplace, the small apartment where she began the Congregation, and the Little Sisters’ motherhouse, all in Brittany, France. It then made the journey to the United States, retracing the path of the first Little Sisters who came to America.
We will have the tapestry here in Kansas City from October 15—November 30. If you’re in the neighborhood, please stop by and see it. It’s a beautiful symbol of the living presence of the foundress in each community of Little Sisters. For more information on the tapestry, visit our national website.
150th Jubilee Year Traveling Tapestry