By Marie Mulvenna

“This place is a joy!” A middle-aged woman beamed unabashed as she spoke from her bed at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Free Cancer Home. She was radiant. She was dying. She is one of over 10,000 who have been guest-patients at the Washington Street home since the doors of the sprawling old building first opened in Atlanta back in 1939. It is their last home on earth.

Now, 34 years later, patients, sisters and volunteers will move into a brand new building. On Sunday, Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan will preside at official dedication ceremonies marking the erection of a much needed new facility for the Sisters of St. Dominic who are officially called Servants of Relief for the Incurably Cancerous Poor.

Governor Jimmy Carter has proclaimed the long-awaited dedication day Our Lady of Perpetual Help Free Cancer Home Day throughout the state.

Some have termed the home a “one block ecumenical movement.” It is that and more. The home has received the unstinting support of every imaginable denomination, the help of countless clubs and organizations, the praise and admiration of every person who has walked through its Victorian arched doors to pay a visit. It is a haven in the middle of a busy city and it has, over and over again, captured the heart of a city. It is a remarkable part of Atlanta that belongs to all.

Many have shared the feelings of reluctance, apprehension, even fear as they paused at the huge building to make their initial visit. One might expect a depressing and grim place, filled with sorrow, inevitable pain and despondency. But instead of sorrow one finds great peace, cheerfulness, contentment. Yes, even joy. It is a small miracle of love, transforming the fear and pain of death to hope and peace.

A letter sent to the home almost ten years ago by the mother of a cancer-stricken child perhaps describes it best. She came from a foreign country, came with a dying child and came with despair and grief. Her child found a loving home and care and all the things the home dispenses every day like hope and laughter and cheerfulness.

To quote this mother: “… a place where true Christianity is observed; a place where true love rules – love for the sick and the poor – love that expects no rewards whatsoever – love for love alone. Where can you find a place like this, in a world torn by hatred? There is so much love and faith in this home, that it seems to be a place out of this world.”

The young mother continued her touching tribute to the home … “and, as long as there is such love and faith in the world, no matter how scarce it is, I firmly believe that God almighty will have mercy on it and save it from destruction.”

Tributes to the home, to the handful of smiling dedicated sisters and to the peace they offer are legion. Words seldom adequately express what the home had given, how much it has meant to a family, to a patient, to a city.

The sisters – there are 13 of them – constantly radiate happiness and joy. Theirs is the task of caring for the terminally ill, for terminal cancer is one prerequisite for entrance. The inability to pay for care is the other. No fees are charged; no donations solicited; no offering is even accepted from the families of patients. A smiling sister says simply; “We live on the hourly mercy of God.”

That’s a bargain they made with the Lord, they will say softly. And it seems to be a bargain that has never been broken.

The goodness of the public has never stopped; the flow of contributions from the rich and the not so rich still arrives. One elderly woman sends $10 of her social security allowance each month. Donations from corporations and foundations “just come up when we are most desperate for funds,” one sister said calmly; “the Lord is a good provider.” There is no official aid given the home on any regular basis – just the daily help that continues to come in and continues to enable the sisters to follow their lifetime work.

The home itself is rich in Atlanta’s history. It had been a Jewish orphanage serving the southeast for some 50 years. In 1927 the home was phased out as a local institution and was used for a variety of social work projects. During the depression, it served as a headquarters for many aid programs. Then, for almost ten years, it lay dormant.

At the invitation of the late Archbishop Gerald O’Hara, bishop of Georgia, the sisters came to Atlanta. The archbishop had found the spacious property on Washington Street, a stone’s throw from the present stadium and capitol building, and five sisters arrived with mops and pails, transforming an abandoned building filled with cobwebs and dust into a home. In March 1939 dedication ceremonies were held and the home officially opened its doors.

One of the sisters recalled that the trustees of the Hebrew orphanage would not let the empty building be sold except for charitable purposes, adding that one of the trustees still sends regular donations to the sisters. “The Jewish community has been very good to us,” she said.

The old building itself is gigantic, spread over three floors with numerous wings, nooks and crannies, street-width corridors, vaulting ceilings and sunny wards. Father Patrick O’Connell, chaplain of the home since 1961, smilingly describes the building as “modified Byzantine.” It is perhaps one of the oldest buildings in current use in the city of Atlanta. But it has outlived itself, and because renovation was impossible, due to the age of the structure, a new home was planned and built.

Sister Eucharia, OP, superior of the home, said the sisters were “thrilled” with the new building, but would undoubtedly feel great pain when the old building had to be demolished. She explained that the old building could not be updated enough to serve the needs of the patients and sisters, adding that the new structure would house 54 patients and provide a convent for the sisters, a luxury that have long done without in the old structure.

There was no drive for the new building, which is built directly behind the other one, just an announcement that they needed a new home. Responses came in from all corners of Atlanta making possible the dream of the sisters. The community quickly answered a need.

Sisters in the order are pharmacists, dietitians, registered nurses, practical nurses, medical technologists, etc. “We are all servants of relief though,” Sister Eucharia said; “we all pitch in and do all the chores. No one is singular in her specialty.”

The order of sisters was founded in 1896 by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, daughter of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne. With a strong resolve to alleviate the suffering of cancer patients, especially the poor and forgotten, Rose Hawthorne began her service in New York aiding the sick and the dying. She was joined in her endeavors by Anne Huber who gave up her career in art to help Rose in her work.

The two then founded the order of sisters who dedicate their lives to caring for the cancer-stricken poor. They follow the rules of St. Augustine and wear the habits of the order of St. Dominic. In 1920 Mother Rose obtained a spacious country site in Hawthorne, N.Y., to this day the motherhouse of the sisters. There are seven homes throughout the country now, each of them ministering to those suffering from cancer.

At the Atlanta home, thousands of patients have found a place of comfort and solace in the work of the sisters. Joining the sisters in their merciful work are many volunteers – a rotating team of seven doctors, an extremely active auxiliary, people who come to iron clothing for the patients, others who come to visit and bring a bit of cheerful conversation. There are no volunteers who actually do the nursing however, a task the sisters say belongs to them and to them alone. Their entire lives are totally dedicated to alleviating the suffering of their patients.

Father O’Connell, who resides at the home with Monsignor Edward Dodwell, a former chaplain, said patients soon pick up the sense of family at the home. “We share food, laundry, everything,” he said. The home is strictly non-sectarian, drawing from all areas of the southeast with perhaps two out of 19 patients being Catholic.

There is a feeling of sunshine in every room and ward at this amazing home. Small TV sets for patients, fresh flowers everywhere, books, hobbies, toys for the cheery children’s ward, electric beds for patients’ comfort, snacks, a strikingly simple and beautiful chapel. Everywhere there are smiles, not merely from the sisters, but from the patients. Nobody cries the bitter tears of sorrow at his fate, as one might expect. It is the visitor who cries.

Sister Eucharia said many of the patients live with them for years, “some for only a day.” No one in need, physically or financially, is ever turned away. There is no consideration of race, color, creed or age. Sister commented that many of the patients come from middle class families, explaining that the very rich are most able to take care of their needs and the very poor are helped by the state. “It’s the middle class that is the hardest hit,” she said; “drug bills alone can devastate a family.”

Sister said that by the time a patient comes to the home, the initial shock for them and for their family has worn off. “They are at the point where they need help financially.” She reflected quietly that it is then that the sisters see the family begin to relax, at long last feel able to sleep at night, knowing the patient is in good hands.

“We never discuss why a person is here,” she relates. “We just want them to feel at home with us.”

Holy Communion is distributed daily in the wards and a blessing for all is given. There is no effort to proselytize although Father O’Connell notes the tremendous number of converts to Catholicism. “More than I’ve ever seen in a parish,” he adds.

Ministers of every denomination visit the home regularly. Archbishop Donnellan is a frequent visitor and spends many hours chatting with patients, carrying a little 5-year-old patient around with him.

Of the archbishop, Father Connell says, “He and Archbishop Hallinan are of the same cloth. Everybody needs such as they. We don’t deserve one such as him but we’re might glad we’ve got him. He’s benevolent and kind.”

The home’s history in Atlanta has been that of a catalyst of charity. It has drawn people of diverse faiths and talents to aid its cause and as it prepares to move into a new modern building, its needs continue to grow. Volunteers have always come forth when needed and their need now is as great as it ever was.

Sister Marie Cordis, OP, administrator of the home, has served the home for over six years. Three of the other sisters are presently studying in Atlanta colleges, but hope to continue their service at the home. Sister Loretta, one of the original five sisters arriving in Atlanta, still actively cares for patients at the home.

The home has been blessed through the years with unexpected donations and grants like that of a $10,000 windfall from the Ford Foundation, and a $10,000 sum from the Gordon Street Baptist Church. The Knights of Columbus annually sponsor a statewide drive for the home which this year brought the sisters $10,000.

Other donations come in all sizes; the largest amount ever received was $600,000 from an unidentified benefactor. The home’s auxiliary hosts an annual fashion show, their only fund-raiser.

No sum imaginable however, could ever repay the small band of sisters who make the remaining days of life happy and peaceful days for countless patients. This final home for so many thousands is a rare place filled with strength and love. As one lady patient said in all sincerity: “This place is a joy!”