August 30 | Saint Jeanne Jugan

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, imagine starting a massive global movement to help the most vulnerable people in society, only to have your title, your leadership, and your credit completely stolen from you by your own boss.

Would you be incredibly angry? Would you try to seek revenge? Well, our saint today, Saint Jean-Jugin, responded differently. Let's get into her story. Let's wind the clock back to the late 1700s in France. Joan was born in 1792, right in the middle of the chaotic and bloody French Revolution. When she was just four years old, she lost her father.

To make matters even more intense, practicing the Catholic faith was actually dangerous at this time in history. Her mother had to teach her about the faith in secret to keep their family safe from the tumultuous political climate. As she grew up, Jean didn't have an easy life. She started out working in the fields as a shepherdess, and later she became a domestic servant. She was clearly a great catch, too. The same man proposed marriage to her then, six years later, asked her a second time.

But Jean confidently turned him down both times because she knew deep in her heart that God had a completely different plan for her life. When she was 25 years old, Jean took a major step and joined the Third Order of St. John Ouds. For the next chapter of her life, she rolled up her sleeves and worked as a nurse for six years, and then spent 12 more years working as a servant for another woman in her religious order. She was humble, hardworking, and patiently waiting for her true calling.

That calling finally arrived in the year 1839. Jean was living in a simple apartment with two other women when she stumbled upon a heartbreaking scene. She encountered an elderly woman named Anne who was blind, partially paralyzed, and completely alone. Jean didn't just offer her a sympathetic smile or a few coins. She picked Anne up, carried her all the way home, and gave the poor woman her own bed. Jean herself moved up into the cramped, uncomfortable attic so Anne could take her room.

This one act of radical kindness sparked an absolute fire. Jean gradually started taking in and caring for more and more elderly people. Soon, other young women saw what she was doing and wanted to join her in her incredible work. By 1850, her little operation had exploded into a massive congregation with more than 100 women.

Today, this amazing group is known as the Little Sisters of the Poor. As for Jean, her official religious name became Sister Mary of the Cross. Now, here is where the story takes a dark and dramatic twist. The superior general of her congregation grew jealous and wanted to suppress Jean's role as the foundress. He cruelly stripped her of her leadership and replaced her as superior. Jean was forced into retirement, a deeply unfair exile that lasted an agonizing 27 years.

But instead of fighting back with bitterness, Jean spent those decades offering up her prayers and her personal suffering for her community. When she finally passed away in 1879, she wasn't even acknowledged as the founder of the group, which by then had grown to a massive 2,400 members all over the entire world.

Thankfully, the truth couldn't stay buried forever. Eventually, that corrupt superior general was investigated and disciplined, and Jane Jugan was rightfully recognized as the true foundress of the community. She was canonized a saint in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI, who noted that her amazing life shows how living faith is prodigious in good works and how sanctity is a healing balm for the wounds of humankind. She is honored as the patron saint of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Jean once gave this amazing piece of advice. Love God very much, so that you can look after the aged well, for it is Jesus whom you care for in them. Look around your own life for the elderly people who might be feeling lonely or overlooked. Maybe it's your own grandparent, an elderly neighbor, or a senior citizen at your local parish. Take a page out of Jean's book and make a sacrifice of your time for them. You don't have to carry them to your house and give them your bed, but you can put down your phone, sit with them, listen to their stories, or help them with a chore.

Treat them with the deep love and respect you would give to Jesus himself, just like St. Gene Juggin did. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.