Good Shepherd Sisters
Encyclopedia
"I bind myself to the labor for the conversion of fallen women and girls needing refuge from the temptation of the world."
The Institute of the Good Shepherd began as a branch of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge (OLC), founded in 1641 by Saint John Eudes, at Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
dedicated to the mission of reconciliation
Reconciliation (theology)
Reconciliation, a theological term, is an element of salvation that refers to the results of atonement. Reconciliation as a theological concept describes the end of the estrangement, caused by sin, between God and humanity. John Calvin describes reconciliation as the peace between humanity and...
and mercy
Mercy
Mercy is broad term that refers to benevolence, forgiveness and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social and legal contexts.The concept of a "Merciful God" appears in various religions from Christianity to...
. The OLC is devoted to the care, rehabilitation, and education of girls and young women of dissolute habits, who wish to do penance for their iniquities and to lead a Christian life. Each convent of the OLC is independently run and operated.
The congregation of the Good Shepherd Sisters was founded by Saint Mary Euphrasia
Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
- Biography :She was born in the island of Noirmoutier, France of pious parents, on 31 July 1796, and received in baptism the name of Rose Virginie. She entered the community of "Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge" of Tours , in 1814, and made her profession in 1816, taking the name of Mary Saint...
(formerly known as Rose Virginie Pelletier) in Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1835 when she broke away from OLC and formed a separate generalate. The reason she founded the separate order was because the OLC was individually run and had no particular supervisory motherhouse. There were no shared resources.
St. Mary Euphrasia formed the Sisters Magdalen for penitent women who wished to live a cloistered life, but were ineligible to become Sisters within the Good Shepherd order.The Sisters Magdalen took three simple vows and spent many hours in prayer. They earned their own way with intricate embroidery and production of altar bread. This category has nothing to do with "Magdalen Laundries."
St. Mary Euphrasia was mother-general of the Good Shepherd for 33 years, and at her death in 1868, she left 2067 professed sisters, 384 novices, 309 Touriere sisters (Outdoor Sisters who were not cloistered), 962 Sisters Magdalen, 6372 penitents, and 8483 children of various preservate classes. In her lifetime 110 Good Shepherd convents were in place all over the world. She never had the opportunity to visit her houses in the United States. The first House of the Good Shepherd in the US was founded in 1843 (Louisville, KY). During the 33 years she saw 16 provinces established, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Holland, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Under her successor, Mother Mary St. Peter Coudenhove, in twenty-four years, eighty-five houses were founded, and thirteen new provinces established, making eleven in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, two in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, nine in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, five in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and one in Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. As of 2010, the congregation, is an international order of religious women in the Roman Catholic Church with its some 4,000 nuns work in 70 countries across the world.
Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
had seen great changes since 1829, when Mother Euphrasia had come with five sisters to found the first convent. The generalate she formed had jurisdiction over the activities of the sisters separate from the control of the Bishops and Cardinals. The Pope gave his permission over the objection of the other male Catholic leaders. The Good Shepherd Sisters owned their own property.
The Good Shepherd was a cloistered order in the past, but now are mostly apostolic. They follow the Rule of Saint Augustine.
The order was divided into two groups Apostolic and Contemplative sisters, but have merged the two groups into one. The Sisters work within the community they reside, they work in various areas:
- Community outreach workers
- Special education teachers
- Social workers
- Youth development workers
- Advocates for social and systemic change
- nurses
- post abortion counseling
- administrators
- psychologists
- hospital chaplains
- prison ministers
The Contemplative Sisters have been merged into the main body of sisters, but continue to be devoted to prayer for the salvation of souls, they support themselves by:
- Making vestments
- Supplying altar breads to parishes
- Artistic works
- Creative computer work – designing graphics, cards and composing music.
In modern times, Good Shepherd Sisters take active part in religious and social service in different countries of the world. They are active in fighting against prostitution and human trafficking in poor countries of Asia. They also work in an international fair trade partnership with women and those in social and economic distress through Handcrafting Justice
Handcrafting Justice
HandCrafting Justice is an alternative trading organization working with approximately 2,000 women in 18 developing countries. It was started in October 1997 as a project of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd...
.
From 1928 to 1975, they operated Villa Loretto
Villa Loretto
Villa Loretto is a historic institutional building located at Peekskill, Westchester County, New York. It was built in 1928 by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd for the housing and treatment of young delinquent women. It is a three to four story, "H" shaped brick building containing more than...
at Peekskill, New York
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
.
Further reading
- Regensburg, Margaret, “The Religious Sisters of the Good Shepherd and the Professionalization of Social Work” (PhD dissertation State University of New York, Stony Brook, 2007). Dissertation Abstracts Internationals No. DA3337604.
External links
- Good Shepherd Sisters Vocations in North America
- The Sisters of the Good Shepherd in North America
- Good Shepherd Sisters in Australia
- HandCrafting Justice
- Good Shepherd Volunteers
- National Advocacy Center
- Good Shepherd Mediation Program
- Good Shepherd Sisters Bangkok
- Official website of Good Shepherd Sisters