Last Wednesday, 21st October, the editor of the very fine magazine 'Inside The Vatican' was in St Peter's Square as he very often is and was observing Pope Benedict's apartment window. This is what he said:

The pope's light was burning late tonight.

In fact, in all the years of his pontificate, since the spring of 2005 after his election, his custom has been to keep the light on until about 11pm. Then the window goes dark. Sometimes it is a little before 11, sometimes a little after.

But this evening, it was still burning at 11.15, at 11.30, at 11.45 and at 12 midnight. I don't know if it was on any longer, because midnight was when I glanced up at the Apostolic Palace for the last time before calling it a day and heading back here to write. The light was still on as I turned and walked away.

Is the Pope working late?

Or did someone forget to turn off the light?

I don't know......I only know that the light stayed on much longer than usual.

I wonder if Benedict was comforting his Private Secretary Monsignor Ganswein because of the loss of his mother a day or so previous and they had stayed up to talk and pray about it?

It is an idea.

Last Sunday, 11th October 2009, Pope Benedict canonised five people, one of whom was the founder of the 'Little Sisters Of The Poor' Jeanne Jugan. Her biography reads as follows:

Blessed Jeanne, born in 1792 in France's Brittany region, is the patroness of the elderly. In 1839, she opened her home to a sick and blind elderly woman. As time passed, more and more elderly women arrived at her home for help. Eventually, other women came to help Blessed Jeanne, and today the 'Little Sisters of the Poor' care for more than 13'000 needy elderly women around the world. Blessed Jeanne who was beatified by Pope John Paul II, died in 1879.

What interests me is that I have seen and visited one of the 'Little Sisters of the Poor' convents where the elderly reside and see out their final days on earth and it is a very nice place indeed.

It is a large convent run by the nuns in beautiful well kept grounds with big gates and 'LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR' written across them in big letters.

The convent is run on the basis of a care type, residential home for the elderly, and the residents there have their own little rooms and bathrooms and they do not have to be a catholic to live there.

The convent runs fetes and provide outings to the residents who are able to go out in this way. It  has a lovely little chapel and a nursing staff for the benefit of the residents and it is kept really clean and nice.

I knew an old lady who moved there after she was unable to live in her own home as a result of a fall and she was very happy there. I also know another lady who 'has her name down' to go in there when the time comes! I am sure the nuns who run this particular residential home will be very happy that Pope Benedict has canonised their founder like this.

Below is a YouTube video of Benedict canonising the new saints:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS1LHwrq-tw

And here is a photo of Jeanne Jugan:

Below is a website which explains more about this church organisation; and the origins of the beginnings of this particular order is very touching and moving indeed as you will see when you read how it began.

http://www.littlesistersofthepoor-pittsburgh.org/about.html