The Anna Trust: Catholic Sisters' Elder Care Fund exists so that the women who have cared for the world's most vulnerable can themselves grow old with dignity.

Many congregations of women religious are aging, with few younger sisters and limited resources to care for their elders, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Responding to Pope Francis's call for intergenerational fraternity, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation supported a series of steps to understand this need: a 2021 grant to the Union of Superiors General (UISG) and Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) for Alzheimer's care, a 2022 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate CARA study on the care of elderly and infirm sisters, and an international survey and webinar series led by the International UISG.

For reasons of practical and spiritual significance, Rome (Italy) was chosen as the geographic location of the new foundation. From our very conception, this journey has been a participatory one of encounter, listening to and learning from key stakeholders, including experts, leaders in the field, and those who will directly benefit from the fund's activities.

In April 2024, UISG and four founding congregations (the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles, the Congregation of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, and the Sisters of St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo) established The Anna Trust: in accordance with Italian laws, the foundation was officially created as an ETS (Third Sector Entity), duly registered with the RUNTS (Italian National Register of the Third Sector) under repertory no. 134297.

To date, several congregations and funding entities have already made concrete commitments to The Anna Trust to ensure the launch of its operations. The Trust was publicly launched in January 2025 with a founding grant from the Hilton Foundation.

"We take our name from Anna, the elderly prophetess in the Gospel of Luke who served in the Temple night and day and recognized the child Jesus when he was presented there."

We are deeply grateful for the collaboration and support of so many, and we trust this continues to reflect our way of being until our mission is accomplished.

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