The Little Sisters provide a nurturing community of love where the Residents feel like they are at Home in the final stage of their journey to Heaven.
Because the Little Sisters actually live at the Home, we share our entire lives with the Residents, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. This is what makes our Home unique.
Services at Sacred Heart Residence include medical and nursing care; pastoral services, daily Mass and rosary, and other ecumenical worship; social services; daily activities program; beauty and barber shops; physical therapy; restorative therapy; occupational therapy; and speech therapy.
Each spacious Resident’s room is single occupancy with private or semi-private bathroom. Residents also enjoy our beautiful grounds and courtyards.
Through all of these services, the Little Sisters and staff extend care, compassion and respect to the elderly. The Little Sisters, staff, volunteers, and benefactors collaborate to make our Residents happy.
If you are seeking admission for yourself or a family member, please click here for the Admissions page.
The Little Sisters of the Poor have provided compassionate care to elderly men and women of the Gulf Coast region since 1901. More than 4,000 people from all walks of life, of all religions and beliefs, have made their home with the Little Sisters in Mobile, Alabama.
At the request of Bishop Edward P. Allen, the Little Sisters first arrived on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, June 13, 1901. Major Patrick C. Hannan graciously donated the first Home and property on McGill Avenue and Monterey Street. In November of that same year, the Little Sisters welcomed the first Residents. One year later, there were already 40 elderly persons residing in our Home!
Increasing demand resulted in the need for a larger residence. Our confidence in God and zeal for caring for His poor earned the respect, love, and support of many friends and benefactors. Through alms and a gift from the McGill family, the dream of a larger Home was realized. On February 2, 1914, the second Home was finished with the capability to accommodate 100 Residents.
In 1973, plans were begun for yet another Home to meet new fire codes and other state and federal regulations. Based on faith in Divine Providence and the generosity of countless friends and benefactors, construction soon began on a new 136,000 sq. ft. building named Sacred Heart Residence. The Little Sisters moved with the Residents into the new Home on January 28, 1976.
In 2001, the centennial of our Home in Mobile was celebrated with many activities, including a proclamation and new street sign from the Mayor adding the honorary name of “Jeanne Jugan Avenue” to McGill Avenue.
In 2005 disaster hit the Gulf Coast, accelerating the difficult decision to close the Little Sisters Home in New Orleans. Because of Hurricane Katrina, the Home in Mobile was blessed to receive the company of many of the Residents, employees and Little Sisters from New Orleans.
Now, more than 100 years later, we continue to serve the elderly poor of the Gulf Coast in the same humble spirit as our foundress Saint Jeanne Jugan.
To learn more about our Congregation, visit our national website at www.littlesistersofthepoor.org.
“As a convert to Catholicism in 2003, I became interested in all of the charitable work of the Church. The love and care that the Little Sisters of the Poor show to the elderly caught my attention and I began to volunteer there. At the urging of my friend Sr. Dora, I joined the Association Jeanne Jugan and currently serve as their Coordinator. This lay organization shares the work and spirituality of the Little Sisters. I take great joy in working with the Sisters and Residents and am grateful to God for His great grace allowing me the privilege of serving the Elderly through the Little Sisters!”
– Velma Nystrom, Volunteer, AJJ Coordinator
“When your family is left with the realization that your mother or father needs care beyond what you can provide, you are left with the most profound sense of heartache and confusion. Since my mother has been living at the Little Sisters of the Poor, my siblings and I can better enjoy the time we are able to spend with her, knowing that she is being cared for when we cannot be by her side. The loving and professional staff at the Little Sisters of the Poor spend each day helping my mother and the other Residents live happily, while their families, like my own, can rest assured that their loved ones are safe.”
– Cammie Wayne, Family Member
“I have been working for the Little Sisters for more than 30 years, for which I am very thankful. I couldn’t do my job as a Scheduler without prayers and the help of the Sisters and my co-workers. And, most of all, I love ‘Making the Residents Happy!’ ”
– Barbara Girtley, Scheduler
The Little Sisters of the Poor are an international congregation of Roman Catholic women religious founded in 1839 by Saint Jeanne Jugan. The Little Sisters of the Poor serve the elderly poor in over 30 countries around the world with a diverse network of collaborators.
The Little Sisters of the Poor are continuing the work of Saint Jeanne Jugan, our foundress.
The MISSION of the Little Sisters of the Poor is to offer the neediest elderly of every race and religion a home where they will be welcomed as Christ, cared for as family and accompanied with dignity until God calls them to himself.
The VISION of the Little Sisters of the Poor is to contribute to the Culture of Life by nurturing communities where each person is valued, the solidarity of the human family and the wisdom of age are celebrated, and the compassionate love of Christ is shared with all.
The VALUES of the Little Sisters include:
The Little Sisters have maintained the begging tradition of our foundress Saint Jeanne Jugan, relying on the charity of those in our local communities.
Our begging Little Sister is no longer known by her begging basket, but by our “begging van.” The Begging Sister and her helpers go out daily to markets, places of business, farms and nurseries seeking food and commodities to offset operating expenses.
Little Sisters can also be found on weekends at Catholic parishes asking for both financial and spiritual assistance and seeking to build friendships and support for the day-to-day activities of our Home.
The Little Sisters rely heavily on the Begging Sister to bring in much needed items. The Little Sisters also reach out to the local communities requesting donations of both time and funds that support the mission of serving the elderly poor.
