<P> The Little Sisters of the Poor is a Roman Catholic religious institute for women . It was founded in 1839 by Saint Jeanne Jugan . Jugan established the order to care for the elderly, having felt the need to care for the many impoverished elderly who lined the streets of French towns and cities . </P> <P> The motherhouse of the order is in Saint - Pern, France . Internationally, the letters following their name are PSDP . In the United States, however, they are LSP . Today the Little Sisters of the Poor serve in 31 countries around the world (including homes in the US, Turkey, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Penang, New Zealand, and Philippines), continuing in their original purpose of caring for the elderly . As of January 1, 2014, they were one of the larger religious institutes of women in the Catholic Church, with 234 houses and 2,372 members . </P>

Who founded the little sisters of the poor