Little Sisters of the Poor
catholic religious institute for women
The Little Sisters of the Poor (French: Petites Sœurs des pauvres) is a Catholic religious institute for women founded by Jeanne Jugan. Having felt the need to care for the many impoverished elderly who lined the streets of French towns and cities, Jugan established the congregation in 1839.
History
The Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor was founded in Cancale in Brittany in 1839. In 1847, a house was established in Tours, and communities of sisters began to spread across France. In 1851, the work expanded to England, and in 1868, the Little Sisters also extended to the United States, where (as of 2014) they now operate twenty-nine homes to care for the elderly poor.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized their foundress, Jeanne Jugan, on 11 October 2009.
Present day
The motherhouse is in Saint-Pern, France.
Internationally, the letters following members' names are PSDP. In the United States, however, they are LSP. Today the Little Sisters of the Poor serve over 13,000 of the elderly poor in 31 countries around the world (including homes in the United States, Turkey, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Penang, New Zealand, South Korea, and Philippines), continuing their original purpose of caring for the elderly. As of January 1, 2014, they were one of the larger religious institutes of women in the Catholic Church, with 234 houses and 2,372 members.
Members, in accordance with the evangelical counsels, make vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, but also a fourth, hospitality.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Little Sisters of the Poor” as catholic religious institute for women. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as catholic religious institute for women. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1781570. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1839, 1847, 1851 and 1868.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Little Sisters of the Poor”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Little Sisters of the Poor primary sources, Little Sisters of the Poor archive and Little research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Little Sisters of the Poor”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Little Sisters of the Poor” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.