Denver Catholic

14 SEPTEMBER 9-22, 2017 | DENVER CATHOLIC Senior Section Independent & Assisted Living Nursing • Medicare Rehabilitation In-Home Care • Out-Patient Therapy There is a place that's just waiting for you to experience senior living as it should be — St. Andrew's Village. Acting your age is not a requirement. Acting how you feel is always encouraged! Whether splashing in the pool, enjoying our Happiest Hour with friends and neighbors, or an evening of fine dining where our staff knows your favorite drink, you'll feel years younger and enjoy every minute of it. Ask about a Priority Reservation. Call 303.695.8100 for lunch and a visit! Click StAndrewsVillage.net Feeling Young at Heart? We know just the place. . . EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY Independent Living Assisted Living Adult Day Services 2835 West 32nd Avenue Denver, CO 80211 Home is here. Call 303.964.3804 and ask about this month's move-in special. homeishere.org BY ROXANNE KING " I saw clean clothes, happy faces, and even radiant health. Between the youthful sisters and these old people reigns a mutual aŠ ection and respect to gladden the heart." So reads an article in the Sept. 13, 1848, L'Univers newspaper of France reporting on a home for the elderly poor run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. And so it is today at the Little Sisters' Mullen Home for the Aged in Denver, which is celebrating it's 100th anniver- sary this year. "We're an international congregation and the beauty of our vocation is it's the same spirit everywhere we are," said Mother Patricia Mary Metzgar, superior of the home located in Denver's historic Highlands neighborhood. "There may be diŠ erences in the culture — in diŠ erent areas of the US or in the world — but still that basic mission: loving care for the elderly poor, welcoming them as Christ, caring for them as family, and accom- panying them until God calls them to himself." With the support of Bishop Nicholas Matz, in 1913 Catholic philanthropist J.K. Mullen bought a 10-acre tract of land at 3629 W. 29th Ave. "to leave something in the nature of a memorial…for the ben- efi t of the aged." In 1916, construction began on a four- story brick home on the property. In 1917, fi ve Little Sisters arrived from France, where their congregation was founded by St. Jeanne Jugan, to staŠ Mullen Home. In 1975, two wings were added to the building to expand services. Today, eight Little Sisters care for 67 residents with help from about a hun- dred lay staŠ ers and numerous volun- teers at Mullen Home, which oŠ ers inde- pendent apartments, assisted living and nursing care rooms. "I love being here," said two-year resi- dent Ida Landrum, 85. "The Little Sisters defi nitely carry out [St. Jeanne Jugan's] spirit. Even Mother [Patricia Mary], who is so busy, is in the dining room at noon serving food to us, cleaning the tables, and in the evening, saying the prayers." The home's renowned family atmosphere is even more profound for Landrum as her husband is also a resident and a daughter works at the home. "Being here makes you happy because everyone is so sweet," she said about the residents, staŠ and volunteers. "You are Little Sisters to mark 100 years of loving service in Denver Mullen Home residents welcomed as Christ, cared for as family $119.17 per person Visit www. littlesisters ofthepoor. org or call 303- 433-7221, Ext. 127 i

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