For Sister Marguerite McCarthy, superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor's San Pedro home, the upcoming canonization of Blessed Jeanne Jugan --- foundress of the religious order --- has special significance, thanks to an unexpected phone call in 2002.

A woman from Nebraska, whom Sister McCarthy had never met, was calling to share with her the remarkable account of her husband's healing following a novena made to Jeanne Jugan on his behalf. "That call placed me on a path of great faith," she explains.

"From first learning of the novena to Jeanne Jugan to the final declaration of the miracle, I have witnessed God's Divine power and the Holy Spirit's guidance along the way. God opened an avenue of opportunity that, with patience and persistence, has culminated in the recognition of our foundress as a saint of the Catholic Church"

The announcement that Pope Benedict XVI will canonize Blessed Jeanne Jugan, the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor, on Oct. 11 has created excitement among members of the congregation worldwide.

"We knew it was only a matter of time, but everyone was just thrilled when the official announcement was made," said Sister Constance Veit, publications coordinator in the Little Sisters of the Poor's Baltimore province. "We've anticipated this for so long."

Pope John Paul II beatified Jeanne Jugan in 1982, and Pope Benedict XVI signed a document last Dec. 6, recognizing the miracle advancing her sainthood cause.

The miracle linked to Blessed Jeanne concerns Dr. Edward Gatz, a retired Omaha anesthesiologist diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1989, Sister Veit told Catholic News Service.

The doctor was advised by a Jesuit priest at Creighton University in Omaha to pray to Blessed Jeanne and a few months later a follow-up biopsy found Gatz --- who is still alive at the age of 71 --- to be cancer-free, she said.

Dr. Gatz spends winters with his wife in Southern California. The couple joined Sister McCarthy at the Jeanne Jugan Residence in San Pedro recently to await the announcement of the date for the canonization and they plan to attend the Oct. 11 ceremony.

Anticipating the event during a speech in January, Pope Benedict said that it will show "how sanctity is a healing balm for the wounds of humankind." The Little Sisters hope that the canonization of their foundress will inspire more and more sick and elderly persons to look to her as a friend and loving intercessor, said Sister McCarthy.

The Little Sisters of the Poor serve the needy elderly at San Pedro. They have served in Los Angeles since 1905: first in Boyle Heights and since 1979 in San Pedro. The Little Sisters provide four levels of care: Independent Living Apartments, Residential, Assisted, and Skilled Nursing.

Blessed Jeanne began her ministry on the streets of France taking the elderly and poor into her home in the early decades of the 1800s. To support her ministry, Blessed Jeanne begged for money, a tradition the Little Sisters of the Poor consider a fundamental part of their mission today.

The canonization will take place during the Synod of Bishops for Africa, and is expected to be celebrated in St. Peter's Square, along with four others who will be declared saints.

Since Blessed Jeanne began her mission in 1839, the Little Sisters of the Poor congregation has grown to more than 2,700 members who care for approximately 13,000 needy elderly people in 202 family-style homes throughout the world, including 32 in North America.

Her canonization, said Sister McCarthy, "brings enormous joy to all of the Little Sisters of the Poor who have longed for this day. I continue to feel blessed by my experience of encountering those of great faith who offered their prayers, witnessed the miracle, and believed in Jeanne Jugan's powerful intercession."

Celebrations will be planned at Little Sisters facilities worldwide, and members of the congregation are waiting to see who will be eligible to travel to Rome in October for the canonization, Sister Veit said.

"With the population of older persons growing at an exponential rate, Jeanne's work and her message are even more relevant today than they were when Pope John Paul II beatified her over a quarter-century ago," she said. "As a patroness of the elderly, Jeanne Jugan is truly a saint of our time."

For more information on Jeanne Jugan and upcoming canonization celebrations, contact Sister Michael Mugan, (310) 413-2128, or Rita Swartz, (310) 548-0625.