Sojourner Truth House is sponsored by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (PHJC), an international congregation of women religious, who have been part of education and health care in the United States since August of 1868. Saint Katharina Kasper, founded the Poor Handmaids in the little village of Dernbach, Germany in 1851.

Saint Katharina Kasper sought out the poor of her village, inspired women to follow her and serve the poor. Her charism inspired women to join her, a legacy that continues around the world. She wrote, “From the house of Nazareth all our houses must take their beginning. The Holy Family, modest and simple, found a livelihood from the work of their hands.”

Sojourner Truth became an advocate of women and African American rights and also inspired others to follow her. “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right-side up again.”

Saint Katharina Kasper’s service to the poor and Sojourner Truth’s awareness of the needs of women is the inspiration for the mission and vision of Sojourner Truth House. To learn more about the Poor Handmaid community and its origins click here: poorhandmaids.org.