TOTOWA Cardinal Joseph Tobin on May 22 celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly here to mark a major historical milestone: the 150th anniversary of seven of their religious sisters from France first arriving in the U.S. in 1868. At the well-attended liturgy, Cardinal Tobin, archbishop of the Newark Archdiocese, praised the Little Sisters — in Totowa and around the world — for continuing the ministry of their founder, St. Jeanne Jugan: care of the poor, sick, elderly and dying “with compassion.”
In spacious St. Jeanne Jugan Chapel at St. Joseph’s, Cardinal Tobin joined many concelebrating priests from religious orders and from the Diocese of Paterson and Archdiocese of Newark, some of whom have ministered there. Also attending were the Little Sisters; volunteers; benefactors; and residents. Family members of many priests live here, as does retired Auxiliary Bishop Charles McDonnell of Newark, who was a concelebrant. The liturgy marked one of several celebrations that the Little Sisters have been holding at their homes around the country since the start of the anniversary last year. Joining the local Little Sisters that day was Mother Alice Marie Monica, provincial of the order in the U.S.
“I know that I speak for all of my brother priests here in welcoming you here today and offering our congratulations to the sisters for 150 years of concern in this country. Your charism has enriched the Church across this nation. You serve as living reminders of what is all of our vocation: to be missionary disciples of Christ,” said Cardinal Tobin, who originally got to know the Little Sisters elsewhere earlier in his priesthood.
In his homily, Cardinal Tobin told worshippers that God “raises up saints like St. Jeanne Jugan” as a reminder that Jesus commands all of us to care for the poor and see the face of him in the faces of the people we serve — as recorded in Matthew 25. The Cardinal also asked the congregation to imagine what it must have been like in 1868, when the seven Little Sisters arrived in lower Manhattan. They most likely would meet individuals “who were despised by proper society — people, who were portrayed in cartoons as apes, threats to woman and children and drunks,” he said.
“But the Little Sisters saw these people as individuals — the Lord Jesus. Their example reminds us to focus on charity rather than condemnation,” Cardinal Tobin said.
The Little Sisters’ legacy of love started, when St. Jeanne Jugan founded the order in 1839 in France for care of the poor and elderly in the streets of cities and towns. In 1852, they established a motherhouse and novitiate in Saint-Pern for the order, which was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1879, the year their foundress died. By then, the congregation had spread to nine countries, including England, Belgium, Spain, Ireland and North Africa. On Aug. 28, 1868, seven sisters left the motherhouse in France to take a long journey by ship to the U.S., arriving in Brooklyn on Sept. 13 that year. None of the sisters spoke English, according to the Little Sisters’ history.
In their first four years on American soil, the Little Sisters established 13 homes, including facilities in New York City, New Orleans, Baltimore, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Louisville, Boston, Cleveland and Washington, D.C. — all thanks to the generosity of the local people. In 1878, they founded the first home in New Jersey on South Eighth Street in Newark; they opened a second home on 70 Dey St. in Paterson in 1901. Outgrowing these two homes, the sisters transferred their 250 combined residents to then- newly built St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa, which was dedicated in 1976 [see sidebar on St. Joseph’s on page 9], the Little Sisters’ history states.
Today, the Little Sisters operate 25 homes in the U.S. and serve the poor and elderly in 31 countries around the world, including Turkey, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, New Zealand and the Philippines. They constitute one of the larger religious orders of women in the Church with 172 houses and 2,014 members. They continue St. Jeanne Jugan’s tradition of begging for contributions, according to the Little Sisters’ history.
At the end of the May 22 Mass, Mother Alice Marie gave a history of the Little Sisters, while Sister Mary Thomas, superior of the Little Sisters in Totowa, thanked the people, who helped coordinate the celebration. Before the liturgy, Sister Mary Thomas told The Beacon that she admired the seven sisters who arrived in the U.S. “not knowing the people, the language and the place — and not having any money.”
“Those Little Sisters trusted in God — that they were doing his work and that he would get them through,” Sister Mary Thomas said.
Mother Alice Marie praised the courage of those pioneering sisters for bringing their charism of care for the poor and elderly to the U.S. — “a mission that continues around the world to this day.”
TOTOWA Marian Bilczak sure keeps busy — from attending daily Mass to playing Bingo and competing in bowling tournaments, where he recently won $1.50. He has only lived at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly here for two months but he loves it. A parishioner of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Passaic, Bilczak also enjoys entertaining residents by playing a harmonica that his father gave him for his 17th birthday.
“I’m so happy in my new home. There is good food. Some of the priests, the nuns [the Little Sisters of the Poor] and the staff are my friends. They treat me well,” said Bilczak, 70, who moved from his sister’s house to St. Joseph’s — home to 105 residents, who are cared for by 10 sisters and 125 full- and part-time employees. “I want to live here the rest of my life,” he said.
Like Bilczak, residents routinely use the word “home” to describe St. Joseph’s, which has been run by the Little Sisters for more than 40 years with help from staff, volunteers and benefactors. They have devoted themselves to attending to the needs of the thousands of men and women who have resided here over the years. On May 22, Cardinal Joseph Tobin joined the Little Sisters of Totowa in celebrating a milestone — the 150th anniversary of the arrival of their religious order in the U.S. — with a Mass of Thanksgiving in the chapel.
St. Joseph’s offers care that helps the elderly stay in their homes as their needs increase. The Little Sisters also offer residents several levels of care at the Totowa facility, including apartments for independent living, residential care and skilled nursing care. The sisters reside at the facility, so they are available to respond to residents’ needs around the clock. They also “assure a constant presence with the residents who are entering the final stages of life” and “take a spiritual approach to aging.” This is exemplified by the “central location of the chapel, the presence of a full-time chaplain, daily Mass and rosary and regular availability of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick,” according the Little Sisters’ website, www.littlesistersofthepoor.org.
“There is a good family spirit here at St. Joseph’s. It’s not a nursing home but a real home — a big family. The Little Sisters give so much care, love, dignity and respect to the residents,” said Sister Mary Thomas, superior of the Little Sisters in Totowa.
Opened in 1976, St. Joseph’s has cared for countless aging laity, Catholic and non-Catholic; religious; clergy and their family members. One recent resident was Paterson’s Bishop Emeritus Frank J. Rodimer, who died there last Dec. 6 at 91.
Over the years, the facility has undergone many renovations, including the opening of a wing for 18 independent units in 1982, a library in 1991, a physical therapy campus in 2005 and an internet café in 2012. Three years later, the chapel was refurbished with a new floor, painted altar and tabernacle and reupholstered pews.
“It’s a privilege to be the last person to hold the hand of residents before they close their eyes and wake up in heaven to see the Lord. As they are dying, we watch over them as a constant presence, making sure that they are never alone,” Sister Mary Thomas said. “We are here — as our founder, St. Jeanne Jugan, said — to help save all souls,” she said.
St. Joseph’s business manager, John Feenan, recalls, as a boy, befriending the Little Sisters, when he volunteered — and interacted with the residents — at their former home at 70 Dey St. in South Paterson, near his family’s home. He also sits on St. Joseph’s Advisory Board.
“There have been countless residents, who through the richness of their life experiences, have enriched my life. It has been my honor to be with them at such a special time of life and support them as they leave this world,” said Feenan, whose family has been involved with St. Joseph’s over the years. “The Little Sisters’ homes feel like a big family, because of the care with which they interact with the residents with incredible love. Everyone is respected. I have enjoyed working with so many Mothers and Sisters, who have brought joy to residents’ lives,” he said.