At Home in Southwest Philly
For over 150 years, we, Little Sisters of the Poor, have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with our neighbors in Southwest Philly. Occupants of row houses have come and gone. Life inside and outside the walls of the Home for the Elderly at 53rd & Chester has evolved, but community bonds have endured.
Wayne, who is now on our Housekeeping Staff, remembers being confronted by Sr. Winifred when he was a kid taking a walk around Holy Family Home with his buddies – on top of its stone wall! She would get them to help her, distributing flyers on porches all around the block announcing her next rummage sale.
Indeed people putting donations in the Little Sisters’ baskets at Church Collections all over the metropolitan area often share memories of their grade-school days, when the Sisters at “MBS” (Most Blessed Sacrament) Parish would channel their youthful energy to helping at the old folks Home.
Keeping up a community tradition, Fred’s Water Ice across the street supplies free treats of water-ice and soft pretzels on special occasions.
Those experiencing trials have always coming knocking at our door asking that we petition the help of God. Today, text and e-mail appeals for prayers, as well as the sound of sirens in our streets, keep us aware of our special mission here interceding for our friends and neighbors.
We are happy to have several neighbors who have been joining us for Holy Mass in our little chapel. One of them, Bessye, unexpectedly passed away recently. Three Residents and two Little Sisters went to the funeral parlor, just a few blocks away, to express sympathy to Bessye’s family and friends. They hugged us and thanked us profusely for coming, saying how much it meant to Bessye to worship with us and how touched they were that we would join them to celebrate her life. We, in turn, were moved by the warm and vibrant spirituality of the funeral service.
Another warm welcome which we received the other day when we went to vote in the nearby public school, made us feel really inserted into our neighborhood. We smiled to hear the pollsters say: “We were waiting for the nuns to come!“ One asked, “You are going to stay in that new building, aren’t you?” When we told her how happy we are here in Southwest Philly, there were more big smiles.
Yes, we’re sure that our Mother, St. Jeanne Jugan, would feel at home here in the heart of Philadelphia, just as we do!
