Geneviève Jeanningros, L.S.J., also known as Little Sister Geneviève, (born ) is a French

Religious Sister A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and ...

and member of the

Little Sisters of Jesus The Little Sisters of Jesus are a community of Catholic religious sisters. Inspired by the life and writings of Charles de Foucauld, they were founded by Little Sister Magdeleine of Jesus (Madeleine Hutin). Little Sister Magdeleine of Jesus ...

, a

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

dedicated to

contemplative life Enclosed religious orders are religious orders whose members strictly separate themselves from the affairs of the external world. The term '' cloistered'' is synonymous with ''enclosed''. In the Catholic Church, enclosure is regulated by the co ...

while sharing the lives of the most marginalized groups of society.

Life

In the 1960s, Jeanningros developed a ministry to the traveling circus troupes of Europe, often excluded from practicing their faith due to the nomadic nature of their lives, as well as facing ostracism by the populations they serve. To this end, she lived in a caravan, whereby she was able to join them in their travels. Jeanningros is a niece of Léonie Duquet, a member of the French Institute of Sisters of the Foreign Missions. She was a missionary in Argentina who was murdered in 1977 by the military junta then ruling the country. Her remains were discovered in a mass grave only in 2005. In arranging for a proper funeral for her aunt, Jeanningros met

Jorge Mario Bergoglio Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin A ...

(who later became Pope Francis), who was then the

Archbishop of Buenos Aires The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Bonaerensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Argentina. It is a metropolitan archdiocese with 13 suffragan sees i ...

and approved Duquet's re-burial in a church cemetery. When Bergoglio became pope, he invited Jeanningros to attend

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

at the

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and visited her caravan residence. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Pope Francis asked her to assist fairground workers who had lost their income due to restrictions. Jeanningros also met with a group of Latin American

transgender sex workers Transgender sex workers are transgender people who work in the sex industry or perform sexual services in exchange for money or other forms of payment. In general, sex workers appear to be at great risk for serious health problems related to thei ...

during this time. Jeanningros regularly brought a group of

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

people to the Pope's public audiences each week. Jeanningros became known worldwide at the

funeral of Pope Francis On 21 April 2025 (Easter Monday), at 07:35 CEST (UTC+2), Pope Francis died at the age of 88 at Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City. His death was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo, in a broadcast by Vatican Media and in ...

, where she stood alone by his coffin, in the section reserved for the clergy, openly weeping for him. Many media commentators remarked at her open grief and her simple attire on an occasion of such formal ceremony.

References

1940s births Living people French Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns LGBTQ and Catholicism Pope Francis {{Catholic-Church-stub

Life

See also

References