The document describes Hospice Madre Teresa in Lujan, Argentina, a Catholic hospice inspired by the teachings of Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. The hospice's vision is to respect and serve human life from conception to natural death by providing end-of-life care so patients can live their final days with dignity, love and faith instead of abandonment. It aims to balance professional care with generosity and compassion through committed volunteering.

1. The Hospice was inspired in the
teaching of Pope John Paul II about
sickness and death, and the
Magisterium of the Catholic Church
which promotes the Culture of
Life, following the charisma of
Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina

2. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
Vision
To respect, defend, love, and
serve every human life from
conception to natural end;
providing end-of-life care so
people with terminal illness can
live their final time on earth
with confidence and in love, and
not in the feelings of
abandonment or loneliness.
John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1995, n. 5
The Piety

3. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
Mission
Our mission is to assist and help
dying patients during their illness
with true humanism, which
acknowledges that man is made in
the image of God and wants to
help him to live in a way
consonant with that dignity.
Pope Benedict XVI,
Deus Caritas Est, 2005, n. 30, b.
The Piety

4. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
PERSON-CENTRED CARE

5. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
PERSON-CENTRED CARE

6. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
Volunteering and solidarity
are at the heart of end-of-life
care ethics.
At Hospice Madre Teresa,
we aim to balance disciplined
professionalism with generosity
and loving compassion, and
we aspire to shift the feelings
from just philantropy to
Christian charity.

7. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
COMMITTED VOLUNTEERING

8. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
Whoever wants to eliminate love is
preparing to eliminate man as such.
There will always be suffering
which cries out for consolation and
help. There will always be
loneliness. There will always be
situations of material need where
help in the form of concrete love of
neighbour is indispensable.
BENEDICT XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 2005.

9. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
Solidarity “is not a feeling of vague
compassion or shallow distress at the
misfortunes of so many people, both
near and far. On the contrary, it is a
firm and persevering determination to
commit oneself to the common good;
that is to say to the good of all and of
each individual, because we are all
really responsible for all.”
Saint John Paul II - Sollicitudo rei socialis
SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE AT END-OF-LIFE
The principles of human dignity, the
common good and solidarity are at the
very essence of the human person.

10. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
Solidarity should not replace
justice but integrate and
supplement it, recognizing the
equality of every human being.
A significant aspect of the
solidarity at Hospice Madre
Teresa is the spirit of gratuity
thanks to the support of a
committed volunteering team.
SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE AT END-OF-LIFE
Care at home

11. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
“In the era of globalization,
economic activity can no
longer leave aside
gratuitousness, which
disseminates and nourishes
solidarity and responsibility
for justice and the common
good in its various subjects
and actors”
Caritas in Veritate

12. Catholic hospice care: ending life with love, dignity and faith.
St Marie’s Selected Charity for 2016 – Hospice Madre Teresa, Lujan, Argentina
The institutions are very important
and indispensable; nevertheless, no
institution can by itself replace the
human heart, human compassion,
human love or human initiative,
when it is a question of dealing with
the sufferings of another.
Salvifici Doloris, John Paul II