Little Sister guides St. Augustine Home with faith and love

Mother Mary Vincent Mannion, superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor at the St. Augustine Home for the Aged in Indianapolis, poses for a recent photo beside a portrait of St. Jeanne Jugan, the order's foundress, at the home for the elderly poor. Residents enjoy the opportunity to participate in Mass each day at the home's chapel. (Photo by Mary Ann Garber)

By Mary Ann Garber

Love, prayer, respect and care are the ingredients of a happy life for the elderly poor who reside at the St. Augustine Home for the Aged in Indianapolis.

Mother Mary Vincent Mannion, the superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor at their home at 2345 W. 86th St., has found that those ingredients—love and prayer, respect and care—are the recipe for lives filled with faith, hope and joy regardless of people's ages or infirmities.

The former administrator of Little Sisters' homes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Louisiana, New York and Connecticut also has ministered at the order's homes for the elderly poor in Massachusetts and Illinois.

She brought a wealth of experience as a licensed practical nurse and administrator as well as a master's degree in health care administration when she began her ministry at the St. Augustine Home last year.

But it is the priceless things in life, Mother Mary Vincent said, that teach the greatest lessons.

Those life lessons learned over the years, she explained in a recent interview, are the result of God's Providence, the devout residents of each home and the dedicated volunteers who serve the elderly poor.

"God can use whoever he wants or however he wants to help his poor," Mother Mary Vincent said. "The very fact that we're in existence is a result of that. We depend totally on God's Providence. That's the beauty of our work as Little Sisters. Our life is very simple and very holy."

Each day, she looks to God, Mary, St. Joseph and the order's foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, for divine inspiration and assistance in supervising the care of 96 residents in the skilled, intermediate and independent living areas of the home.

"The needs of the elderly continue to grow," Mother Mary Vincent said. "I think there always will be a need for our homes. We would hope that more families would be able to take care of their elderly relatives in their own homes, which is really the best way. But very often, that's not possible."

Ministering to the elderly as a Little Sister of the Poor is "a beautiful life," she said. "I've never questioned my vocation. I've always known that this is what God wanted me to do. That is really a gift."

The Pittsburgh native was the superior of the Little Sisters home there before being assigned to the St. Augustine Home in Indianapolis on May 1, 2011.

"I think the life of any Little Sister is being willing to build up the body of Christ," Mother Mary Vincent said. "We try to bring Christ to the residents and they bring Christ to us. … I think that's the duty of every Christian. We have to seek him out in one another.

"Life as a Little Sister is very easy because we have such holy residents," she said. "They have always been more of a teacher to me than I've ever been to them. They really are beautiful people. … With help from our wonderful volunteers, benefactors and staff, we can do nice things for our residents. People have been very generous to us, and we're grateful for all of their help with this sacred work.

"I think that one of the great graces that we have as Little Sisters is to be present and to pray with the residents as they are dying," Mother Mary Vincent said. "When their time comes, they are peaceful and are ready to go home to God."

The elderly poor who reside at the Little Sisters' homes make the choice to be happy and to trust in God each day, Mother Mary Vincent said. "They teach us by their lives."

She said a 90-year-old woman at one home whose only child, a Dominican sister, died of cancer calmly reacted to the sad news with faith and hope.

"The woman said, 'I can become closer to our Blessed Mother now because she lost her only son,' " Mother Mary Vincent recalled. "She accepted it. What a wonderful way to see life—totally through the lens of faith."

An elderly woman at another home who had reached the age of 100 told her that she memorizes something new each day.

"She was sitting at the window, very content, very serene," Mother Mary Vincent said. "She told me, 'I just read this poem and it's so beautiful.' She had memorized the 23rd Psalm, 'The Lord is My Shepherd.' … You could see such serenity in her face."

Yet another elderly resident at a home who was near the end of her cancer battle used her final hours on Earth to share her faith with others, Mother Mary Vincent said. "She was lying in her bed singing 'Nearer My God to Thee.' She read her Bible every day. She was very, very close to God."

Mother Mary Vincent also enjoys expressing her faith through music when she sings and plays the organ or piano.

"I enjoy life," she said. "It is a great joy to give happiness to our residents."

(For more information about the St. Augustine Home for the Aged, log on to littlesistersofthepoorindianapolis.org.) †