OUR CHARISM, MISSION AND SPIRIT

Charism of Merciful Love

As women religious, we, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, express our charism of merciful love through an apostolic life or a contemplative life.

Our Spirit

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has called us to live in union with him and continue his redemptive mission in the Church. God has consecrated us for this purpose through the gift of his love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Father, who is rich in mercy, sent his Son to bring good news to the poor, to set free the oppressed, to heal the contrite of heart, to seek and to save what was lost.

We find inspiration and guidance for our mission in sacred scripture and in the teachings of St. John Eudes and St. Mary Euphrasia. Like them, we draw our spirit of zeal from the Heart of Jesus and Mary. It is an evangelical spirit of welcome, kindness, understanding, and loving service which gives witness to the value of each person.

We find the spirit of our congregation in the Heart of Mary, Mother of our institute and model of our consecrated life. With Mary we strive to show forth the mystery of God’s merciful love and live to the praise and glory of the Blessed Trinity.

Mission of Reconciliation

The Church entrusts to us a share in her mission of reconciliation. This demands an awareness that we ourselves are always in need of conversion. In our unceasing return to our compassionate God, we discover the depth of our sinfulness and in openness to God’s initiative of love we find mercy. United with all people in their struggle with sin and in their need for reconciliation, we witness among them to the power of this mercy.

As apostolic sisters, we announce the message of reconciliation through a ministry of charity and evangelization directed towards persons wounded by sin and its consequences. Our specific orientation is to girls and women whose condition in life cries out for the healing and salvation which Jesus alone can bring. We are deeply committed to their human and spiritual healing and to their integral development.

As Contemplative Sisters, we witness to the absolute primacy of God and seek to be a means of reconciliation by our prayer, gospel asceticism, solitude and silence. We pray for the Church and for the entire world. With Jesus , we give ourselves up to ardent intercession that the beauty of God’s image be revealed in each person. In a particular way, we support the endeavours of our Sisters who are engaged in the active ministry of reconciliation.

Our commitment to reconciliation demands that we promote justice and peace in a world disturbed by sin and conflict. We collaborate to help bring about change in whatever condemns others to live a marginalized life.

Our Models of Holiness

St. John Eudes was born on November 14, 1601, in Normandy, France. He studied at the Jesuit College in Caen as a teenager and in 1623, joined the Oratory, founded by Berulle in Paris. He was ordained a priest in 1625 would later minister to plague victims, risking his own life.
St John Eudes was known as a remarkable preacher. He was challenged and inspired by Madame Madeleine Lamy to establish refuge houses for women forced into prostitution. In 1641, he founded the first such house in Caen, which led to the creation of the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge. He instituted a fourth vow of zeal for the sisters, alongside poverty, chastity, and obedience, to reinforce their commitment to this mission.
St. John Eudes also addressed spiritual renewal for laypeople and clergy by founding the Congregation of Jesus and Mary in 1643, aimed at improving priestly training. He celebrated the first mass in honor of the Heart of Mary in 1648 and built the first church dedicated to the Immaculate Heart in 1652.
He died on August 19, 1680. Pope St. Pius XI later recognized him as “the father, doctor, and apostle of liturgical devotion to the hearts of Jesus and Mary” and canonized him on May 31, 1925.

St. Mary Euphrasia, born Rose Virginie Pelletier on July 31, 1796, on the island of Noirmoutier, France, grew up in the aftermath of the French Revolution, witnessing her parents’ acts of compassion toward others in difficult circumstances. Her experiences instilled in her values of compassion and love of neighbor.
As a teenager, she was sent to a boarding school in Tours, where she became inspired by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, who cared for marginalized women and girls. At 18, she joined the congregation, taking the name Sr Mary of St Euphrasia.
Elected superior at the age of 29, she established a contemplative community for penitents who wished to dedicate their lives in prayer and sacrifice. In 1829, she moved to Angers to create a home there, responding to requests from bishops to expand the sisters’ mission. To support this growth, she sought Church approval for a unified governance structure, which was granted in 1835, leading to the establishment of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd.
At the time of her death on April 24, 1868, there were 110 established convents in five continents worldwide. St. Mary Euphrasia was beatified in 1933 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1940.

Blessed Maria Droste zu Vischering, also known as Mary of the Divine Heart, was born on September 8, 1863, in Münster, Germany, to an aristocratic and devout Catholic family. As a young girl, she displayed strong willfulness, sensitivity, and empathy, leading her to feel a call to religious life. At 25, she joined the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd and took the name Mary of the Divine Heart.
Maria dedicated herself to the care of underprivileged girls in Münster and later served as a community leader in Oporto, Portugal. Despite her joyful exterior, she experienced a profound mystical union with God, culminating in a call to request the consecration of the universe to Christ’s Heart from Pope Leo XIII.
Despite declining health due to a spinal disease, she remained committed to her mission until her death on June 8, 1899. The papal consecration took place shortly after her passing, on June 11, 1899. She was beatified by Pope Paul VI on November 1, 1975.

Blessed Marie-Thérèse de Soubiran was born on May 16, 1834, in Castelnaudary, France. After a year as a Beguine lay sister in Belgium, she returned to France and co-founded the Sisters of Marie-Auxiliatrice in 1866, focusing on educating girls.
In 1869, she faced accusations of financial mismanagement that forced her to abandon her Congregation. She found refuge with the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in Paris in 1874 and took on the name Sr Marie of the Sacred Heart on her vow day. She died on June 7, 1889. Two years later, her innocence was proven. Her beatification process began in 1934, and she was beatified on October 20, 1946 by Pope Pius XI.

Antonia Luzmila Rivas López, known as ‘Aguchita,’ was born on June 13, 1920, in Coracora, Peru. She moved to Lima as a teenager to study at Sevilla College. She later joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in 1941, making her perpetual vows in 1949.
Aguchita taught and worked with children in vulnerable situations in Lima until 1988, when she was sent to La Florida to support local women and indigenous communities. Despite threats from the Shining Path, a communist terrorist group, Aguchita she remained committed to her mission, offering health, education, and community support.
On September 27, 1990, she was murdered by the Shining Path, motivated by hatred of faith. She was beatified on May 7, 2022 by Pope Francis.