With support from the Catholic Sisters initiative of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in the United States, a new Catholic foundation, The Anna Trust for Catholic sisters' elder care, headquartered in Rome, has launched its website:  www.annatrustfoundation.org.

The founding organizations are: The International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and four religious congregations – the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostoles, the Congregation of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood and the Sisters of St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo.

The Anna Trust is the first ever to focus on ensuring dignity in aging for Catholic sisters globally, with an intercultural approach that reflects the diversity of sisters and their communities around the world.

Institutes of Catholic sisters are aging, with few financial or health resources to support their elderly members. This is not just a phenomenon in the U.S. and Europe. Research by the Georgetown University Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate estimates that some 30% of Catholic sisters in Kenya and Zambia and half of Catholic sisters in Mexico are over the age of 60.

The Anna Trust will engage in innovative grantmaking and education programs globally. These will focus on develop effective and financeable approaches to Catholic sisters' elder care as well as the creation of caregiving skills among sisters themselves.

The Anna Trust Board is comprised of sisters and laity with expertise in elder care, dementia, and education. The Board is co-chaired by Sister Patricia Murray, ibvm, D. Min., Executive Secretary of the International Union of Superiors General in Rome and Sr. Teresa Maya, CCVI, PhD, Senior Director for Theology and Sponsorship of the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

Sister Patricia Murray remarks that “Creation of The Anna Trust plants a global exclamation point on the importance of guaranteeing dignity as sisters age.  It also underscores the broader commitment of the Church and of consecrated life to the elderly in an aging world.”  

Sr. Teresa Maya comments that “The Anna Trust is well named, it is not just a “Trust” financially, it is an expression of the trust that elderly sisters, especially in vulnerable settings, can have in the global sisterhood.”

The Anna Trust will be led by Executive Director Susan Raymond, Ph.D. who has led the creating and funding of Third Sector nonprofits and foundations globally.  She is also widely published on the health system and finance issues associated with global demographic aging.  “We have taken the first steps on a long road,” she noted. “The Anna Trust is focused on solutions that will ensure dignity for elderly sisters who have given their lives to the poor.  It is our sacred trust to give back to them our very best efforts to protect their futures and the future of all elderly persons.”

Contact: chair@annatrustfoundation.org