«MISSIONARIES OF HOPE»

The Nursing Home "Saint Joseph" in Le Mans - France has the characteristic of being a meeting point for the elderly, in which the welcome and the family environment, make it clear that we Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart carry out our apostolic service in a spirit of minority and Franciscan joy. 

The house has a beautiful park where beauty and silence call for rest and serenity! Both the external and internal environment help to build meaningful links between us and the elderly and also between the guests. One of the objectives of the home is to restore trust to the elderly by offering them our fraternal presence and listening, so that they can rediscover their dignity and the joy of living. We also strive to stimulate them on the physical, spiritual and physiological levels.

In the absence of meaningful human relationships the elderly tend to close in on themselves. They need recognition and signs of affection that they too manifest in one way or another. We give hope to them to continue to live respecting their feelings, their customs, their rites; in this way we are «bearers of hope and joy» in their daily lives. With a smile and laughter we share something from which comes a complicity and spreads the good mood, joy, mutual understanding.

By animating various workshops such as: «healing of traumas», we are witnesses of the work that God does in each of them. We share with their families the most significant events. We are called to be "Missionaries of hope" - with Pope Francis - because no evil is infinite, no night without end and no hatred can prevail over love».

Pope Francis affirms the importance of the elderly and gives an example to all of us: "They are those precious pieces of bread that have remained on the table of our lives, that can still feed us and spread a pleasant scent that perhaps we have lost; it is the pleasant smell of memory. Grandparents and the elderly are the bread that feeds our lives”.