In the 14th century, the Black Death killed about one-third of the population of Europe.
The awful pandemic was thought to have been spread by rats and fleas aboard merchant ships returning from Asia. It killed up to 200 million people.
A group of Christian servants known as the Alexian Brothers cared for the plague victims and, when necessary, buried them according to the customs of their faith.
Mark KennedyMinistering to the "least of the least" has always been the guiding light for the 800-year-old Alexian Brothers congregation of the Roman Catholic Church.
The brothers are now casting a searchlight for lonely and isolated seniors in the Chattanooga area. By seeding a new nonprofit ministry called Hospitality at Home, the brothers are shifting emphasis from their former mission here - institutional care for the elderly. In 2012, the Alexian Brothers senior living and nursing home properties here were absorbed by Ascension Health, a Catholic affiliated health system.
Susan Chill, executive director of St. Alexius Outreach Ministries on East 10th Street, says the Chattanooga-area seniors being referred to the Hospitality at Home program are indeed isolated and lonely. Ironically, rats and fleas are again markers for their suffering.
One home she visited was overrun with rodents that had to be exterminated, Chill said.
At the home of another elderly woman, a 28-pound dog infested with fleas was living in a crate virtually 24 hours a day. (Thankfully, the dog has been adopted and its flea problem cured. Meanwhile, the dog's former owner is on the mend at a rehab facility.)
Human suffering, far from being alleviated in the 21st century, is still festering in Chattanooga, Chill says, especially among the elderly population. A breakdown in family and church support services - along with a stretched social services network - is incubating the problem.
Chill, a social worker by training, said the Hospitality at Home program was launched last year after a two-year "discernment" period to spot people in need on the fringes of society. It is modeled after similar programs in other cities.
The vision is to help serve the over-70 population here by building a volunteer-based visitation ministry that will also help stitch together social service resources, a process known as case management.
After only a few months of operation, about 20 volunteers have been recruited to begin the work of the Hospitality at Home network, Chill says. Hopes are high that reinforcements will be on the way.
"We offer hope. We offer trust," Chill says. "We stand in the name of the Alexian Brothers, and we want older people to know they are not alone.
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" We offer them our friendship. We offer things like reassurance phone calls and home visits. We honor their birthdays: We take them a cupcake with a candle."
In some cases, Chill says, elderly people have been reconnected with their church homes through calls placed by Hospitality at Home staff. Smoke detectors have also been placed in homes by local fire departments at the urging of the volunteers.
"The federal government can only do so much," Chill said. "The church is based on the corporal works of mercy. I think the community is happy to hear that the brothers are are on the move."
To volunteer for Hospitality at Home, or to refer an elderly person in need, contact the Hospitality at Home office at 423-755-3446 or connect through Facebook @beinggoodneighbors.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645.