Within eight days of their arrival in 1909, the Sisters launched their mission of caring for the sick and elderly. One year later, the Sisters established a nursery school and home for working women. In 1927, the Sisters started the Saint Clare Home for Aged Women with 20 elderly residents.
Although new to America, the sisters already had a long tradition of service in Europe. Founded in 1706 in France, the order started as a ministry to the poor, those who were sick, and children, focusing on teaching poor girls. They were officially recognized as a religious congregation in 1733.
At the heart of their mission is the commandment in Matthew 25:35-36, where, speaking of those who will inherit the heavenly kingdom, Jesus says, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”
Matthew 25:35-36
… gives us a reflection of the kind of community where Jesus sees himself to be recognized, the kind of community where Jesus finds himself at home. The presence of Jesus is hidden among the poor and the vulnerable: where their needs are recognized, Jesus is acknowledged.
St. Clare’s is named for a saint who lived this out in her own life. St. Clare was born in Assisi in 1194, to a family noted for its wealth and nobility. From an early age, St. Clare had a desire for the spiritual life. When she was 18, she heard St. Francis of Assisi preach and was inspired to put aside her family’s wealth for a life of poverty, prayer, and service to others. St. Clare would go on to found the Order of Poor Ladies, also known as the Poor Clares. St. Clare remained a devotee of St. Francis and his teachings throughout her life, even caring for him in his final years.
St. Clare’s commitment to service and care for St. Francis is a fitting model for what we do here at St. Clare-Newport.
In 2008, St. Clare Home began an eight-year transformation into what it is today – St. Clare-Newport, a not-for-profit senior care community that, in addition to assisted living, provides adult day care, short-term rehabilitation, memory care, outpatient rehabilitation services.
In 2013, the last two remaining Sisters of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit retired.
Their legacy of offering the care, compassion, and respect that our seniors deserve continues to this day.