The Anna Trust at the 2nd World International Conference on Ageing and Gerontology

On the 14th of July 2025 a presentation entitled ‘Meeting the holistic care needs of Catholic Sisters in Care Today’ was delivered at the 2nd World International Conference on Ageing and Gerontology in Rome. Currently there are there are 700,000 Catholic sisters in the world some of whom may develop cognitive impairment or dementia.

The mission of The Anna Trust Cognitive Impairment Program is to offer holistic care to all who may be affected by this disability that bears witness to the gospel and empowers sisters to live out their religious lives with grace and dignity. Biomedical care principles are incorporated as appropriate. When this research-based care is delivered with compassion and professionalism it can serve as a beacon of transformative hope for all living with and caring for people with dementia.

To aid conference attendees understanding of the vocation of a religious sister an overview of the theological foundations of religious life was offered. This was to help them to deepen their understanding of the life of a sister and the particular care needs that she may have for silence, prayer and reflection in a care setting. The protective role that faith, prayer, good community support, simple living and service of others play in the protection of a person from developing dementia was outlined. The contribution of family and the gift of culture were discussed.

Negative perceptions of sisters, taboos and dementia stigma were called out. A series of graphs outlining some of the financial challenges experienced by sisters in meeting the care needs of their members were shown and the financial support that is in place was acknowledged.

The importance of ethical palliative care and End of Life health policies that uphold the dignity of all people were emphasized. The role of the Power of Attorney or other country specific document that gives voice to the wishes of the sisters was highlighted. Attendees were informed that the unique gift of her life-story and mission of her congregation need to be included in all care planning.

Staff training that deepens care partners understanding of the needs of sisters is essential if her care needs are to be served in a way that offers comfort, safety and a sense of wellbeing that upholds her wellbeing and dignity at each moment of her life. When these principles are not honoured, a sister may become distressed and respond in ways that are detrimental to her wellbeing which may lead to a deterioration in her dementia.

The gift that holistic gospel infused care can offer to all will serve as a beacon of prophetic hope to a world crying out for healing and renewed hope. It will indeed be a model of best practice dementia care for all people.