CV NEWS FEED // Five years after COVID-19 swept through one of the Little Sisters of the Poor’s U.S. homes, one of the sisters shared how the experience of serving the dying deepened her understanding of Christian hope and the meaning of death.
In a personal reflection published March 18 for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Sister Constance Veit recalled being asked to assist at one of the first Little Sisters homes in the U.S. affected by the virus.
Her superior offered her time to consider the request, but Sr. Constance immediately agreed to go.
“Despite a certain fear of the unknown, I didn’t hesitate,” she recalled. “I felt it was an honor to serve in this way, even if it might cost me my life!”
The Little Sisters of the Poor, founded in 1839, dedicate their lives to serving the elderly poor by providing residential care and spiritual support. The order’s headquarters is based in Washington, D.C., and Sr. Constance has long served as its communications director.
Several residents had already died by the time Sr. Constance arrived at the order’s home in Newark, Delaware, and by Easter, 13 lives had been lost. Yet amid the surrounding sense of death, the nun wrote, “I was not afraid.”
Having cared for the elderly since she was a teenager, Sr. Constance said her experience had shown her that many seniors face death not with despair, but with peace, longing for reunion with loved ones or to see God.
“The seniors I have known, cared for and loved over these many years have taught me important lessons about living and dying,” she said. “They have expressed their belief that death represents a passage to a better place.”
Reflecting on those memories, the nun connected her experience to the current health struggles of Pope Francis, who has also recently spoken about suffering, death, and Christian hope.
Sr. Constance also cited his 2022 catechesis on old age, in which Pope Francis wrote that earthly life is “the initiation of the fuller one; a life which finds fulfillment only in God” and described old age as a privileged time to “spread the joyful news that life is the initiation to a definitive fulfillment.”
In light of the Church’s current focus on the virtue of Christian hope during Jubilee Year 2025, Sr. Constance concluded with a note of encouragement.
“May the words and example of Pope Francis in the midst of suffering encourage us to reflect on the reality of death,” she said, “strengthening our assurance that the best is yet to come, because heaven is the goal.”
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