THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 42, 17 October 1907, Page 14

THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR

ANEW HOME FOR THE AGED NEEDY

On December 8, 1004; was seen the realisation of a hope that- had for a long time engaged" the attention of his Lordship the Bisjiop of Dunedin— the opening of a home for the aged poor under the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor. The site of the home was at Anderson's Bay, and consisted of several acres of land, with a private residence. The residence was old and inconvenient in many respects ,f or -the work of the "Order, but with some expenditure it was made to serve its purpose,, until, q.s tTie Right Rev. "Dr. Verdon said at rthe ceremony on Wednesday last of laying the foundation stone of a new home, the Sisters could prudently undertake the wolfe of erecting more suitable premises. If the building 5 was not all that could be desired, the land, on the other hand, was eminently' suitable for such an institution. It is well sheltered from -the prevailing winds, lies well to the sun, -and commands a fine" view of the,, harbor, the city, and hills- at . the back, and of the' ocean. The community started with one. inmate in their home, now there are nearly .twenty, this being ' the limit number they can accommodate at the present time. As the want of accommodation placed- a limit to the usefulness and. noble charity of the Sisters, it had been their most ardent wish for some time to commence the erection of a new home. " Wednesday of last week— Labor Day— saw the comirencement of "the work, when the foundation stone of the new building was solemnly blessed and laid- by the Kight Rev. vv. Ver-

don, assisted. by the Rev. Father Loffey, Adm., Rev. Fathers Cleary and Corcoran,; and' in the presence, of a large assemblage of people, .including all, the local and visiting clergy . from . Mosgiel and Port Chalmers, , .the Mayor of Dunedin (Mr. J. Loudon), Mr. J. M. trallaway, the Rev. Mr. Fynes-Clinton (Anglican), and other non-Catholic sympathisers. Accompanying this report is a process block of the design of the central portion of- the home ; the wings are :to be added later on- when further accommodation "is required. The Cereirony. - - -• At the conclusion of the blessing of the foundation •. stone his Lordship the Bishop, addressing -Enose present, said that about three years ago they had welcomed the Little Sisters of the Poor to Dunedin, and established them in .their new home at Anderson's Bay. During the short time that they had been here they had won golden opinions, and had- gained the sympathy of all, classes of the - community by their zeal, earnestness, charity, and self-sacrificing devotion to duty. The temporary home then provided gave only limited accommodation, but by careful management they were able to provide Tor 18 or 20 aged poor. The Little Sisters of the Poor did not wish such" limits to be placed to their charity, for they were often pained when obliged to refuse admission to the home of those they, would have willingly received if the room had been <it their- disposal. From the very day the Sisters arrived in Dunedin they had been looking forward to the time when they might prudently commence the work of the - new building.- To-day - they had laid the foundation - stone of the new building, ana He trustea, with God's help

that the good work would in a stf&rt time be brought to a favorable termination. The building would have accommodation for 70 inmates, and here the aged poor would find a happy home, in which, under the' care of the good, Sisters, they could end their days ' in 1 peace and obtain that crowning blessing, a happy death. Some migh£ ask who were tne Little" Sisters of the Poor andwhaE were they doing ? Sixty-seven; years ago three pious ladies, moved with compassion^! qr • the sufferings of the Homeless poor, formed the generous resolve to devote their lives- to relieving the distressed. • These worthy ladies had not wo.rfdly wealth to enable tnem to accomplish their pious design, but they 'generously resolved to obtain the means by the labor ' of their own hands, and to trust" to the charity of others for tne jtrest. Later on other ladies joined theni, and in a, short time they formed tnemselves into; a; society, which' was .approved by the Holy See and made a religious congregation.' Since then God had. blessed ' their work, and -their success had . been marvellous. There are at present 5435 Little Sisters of the' Poor engaged in their, charitable work in- every part 'of' 'the world. Since the establishment of the Order '2304 Sisters had died. _The 'number of homes established^ Jup to the present time was 301, ,and the number: of" bid people . being cared for to-day was 44,914. During"these years of noble, "gl:orious "work", " 228,426 t of" r the aged poor had come "under the careof tjie' Sisters;/ suuL depart.cd to a better world.- "The "Sisters themselves were "devoted to a life of true universal charity, w^ich - compassionated suffering humanity without regard " "to nationality or creed. They were willing to receive into thejr homes all nationalities, all creeds, and all denominations, and in turn they -appealed to all for assist-

ance.- Their. homes were entirely supported by charity, and that charity had never Tailed them. -It gave him very much pleasure to say that since the Little Sisters of the Poor came to Dunedin they had' been treated - with the utmost consideration • by. every -class - - and denomination in the community, and tney'had received generous offerings from all denominations. . They were deeply indebted to all who gave" such assistance, and he (his Lordship) was, greatly pleased to. see members of other denominations present" to encourage the Little Sisters of the Poor .in ineir work by their presence and sympathy. He thaiiked the Mayor - . and other non-Catholic gentlemen who had come to their assistance" on the occasion. His Lordship then called -on the Mayor fo address the meeting. - ■ . " * His Worship the Mayor said he was .proud to 'be present- to witness the- laying of the -foundation stone for> such a rioble v work!' a,s that 'carried on by the Little Sisters of the Poor.- Here his Worship quoted from, William Perm and R. L. Stevenson 'on the merit of doing good to one's neighbor. Continuing, the Mayor said he took it that the object of the - Little Sisters in their noble work was- to make the aged happy. Sometimes the Iragedy of someone being cut off in the bloom of. youth was taken too seriously, but .there, was probably more tragedy in the life that had outgrown its . usefulness and was doomed -to pass a certain ' numbter of years without friends, joy, or consolation. This was the - class of people that the Sisters fioped to benefit, and to enable' them to pass' their ; few declining years in comparative comfort and happiness. Anyone who was acquainted with the work carried on by the Sisters could not help, being struck with

the self-siacrificing nature of it. And as it was not confined to ojne denomination . or. creed, every member. of the ' community should look' upon the Sisters as benefactresses, and give what assistance they could. There was no doubt the work of the Sisters was •of incalculable benefit, and deserved the "warmest sympathy of all. Mr. J. M. Gallaway expressed his pleasure at witnessing' that day's ceremony/ When he was present' three years ago he had not expected that they would meet so soon again for such, a good object. It was almost? .incredible that in so short a space of time such a" step' should .be necessary, but -the people of Dunedhvwere, noted for their chaiity, and .that, he thought, accounted "in a measure for the success of the Little bisters of the Poor. It had been^ stated that the Little Sfrsters of the Poor had been well and favorably received .by all denominations here. He would be surprised if the contrary .were the case. However , they might differ on questions of theology there was the .common' ground of humanity, on which they all could ;meet 'for "the purpose oL-doing good to their fellowl creatures! In the heart of every man there was a "feeling that' he should do something for his fellow-men, and" .-that'- a day might come, when he himself would require !„' charity'. - In conclusion he congratulated- the Sisters on, L.the success of Iheir efforts, and he thought he could : , assure them tliat as long as the work, was carried'-. . 0n ,/th'ey "iriight be sure that members of all. denominations''would' help them to the best, of their ability... '" "- At "the conclusion of the addresses a collection was •taken up, when the sum of -,£,145 was received.

Sty-le and Dimensions.

The building of which the foundation stone was lafcl will form tihe central part of what in the future w.ill be the complete establishment. This central block -'. will^ consist of^ Three floors 160 ft' by 54ft, arid of ay total, height of 51ft from. the. ridge to .the .terrace levels ' The', front is .towards the 'west arid commands a- fine view, taking -in. 'St. (Jlair and the "southern "and -western parts*' of the "'-city. ' On this" front there will be _a narrow" wing, ; advancing. l*6ft from ,the main building, carried up its- whojje height, and- finished with ,a Tiigh-p itched gable,-oh-,the-^op-of-which will beset the belfry surmounted: : ' by.-a'-cross^^ft-.high. • " cThe c whole will "rfseUto a ;' tijeight." oj .. ZUff -f ro.nV'.the terrace' leveL . .Tlie.^publicf -entrance will ~:-be'-*intio-£r porch- formed by the -projection describted and-atrthe fixst-lloor level,' which will be" reached bytwo ' '; semi-circular fllgllts of steps, rising •in an easy ' curve on -each side of -the -central' wing. The basement on the front of- the building will have a verandah- Bft wide along its whole length. The other two floors will be -provided with balconies .along the whole length of the fironty the upper "one being _ roofed over. Corresponding ; with the front" the" back of the building will- extend the whole 'of the -1,60ft,' anil' thcr feature' of the central gable will be repeated, but without the projection" or' the bel- " fry.. The basement here ,will have a verandah formed byan arcade in brick arches, extending the whole length of the building, and abutting against two tank towers. The. two tanks will each hold 2000 gallons, and the overflow will pass to ah underground tank with a storage capacity of 80,000 gallons. Above the verandah at -the back will be -two -balconies. In the basement will .be situated the kitchen, scullery in which will be a lift, store-rooms", Sisters' refectory, postulants' refectory, .central dividing hall, men's dining room and smoking rooms, fraifihroomsPetc. On the first floor will be' the .woman's infirmary, with dining rooir, bath rooms, .men's, infirmary and aining room, central hall, two parlors," temporary chapel (the permanent ■ chapel will eventually form a separate wing), 6tc. At one end of the second floor will be the women's dining room arid dormitories, and at the other the dining room and dormitories for men. The building will be Heated-through-out ,wifn l)ot water circulating from one central boiler, ...and' the lighting throughout will be by electricity. It ".TKiH be . .constructed of brick on concrete - foundations, Ijled rool, and the ceilings of the principal rooms wni*T)e i of embossed metal. Mr. F. /W. Petre ■is the . architect , ancT the site is now .being prepared under the supervision of Mr. Mulquin. ' ■