History
History
RGS in the Philippines
Beginnings
The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd was founded by St. Mary Euphrasia in Angers, France in 1835. Born Rose Virginie Pelletier in Noirmoutier, France on July 31, 1796, she joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity (whose houses are known as the Refuge) at the age of 18 and received the name Sr Mary of St Euphrasia on her clothing day. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity was a congregation founded by St. John Eudes in 1641. It had a convent in Tours, France and was devoted to the rescue of “fallen” women and the protection of girls who were homeless and vulnerable to exploitation.
Elected to head the congregation in 1825, Sr. Mary Euphrasia opened a new foundation in the city of Angers, France, of which she eventually became the superior in 1831. While in Angers, she received growing support for her idea that if the work of the Sisters was to grow, then their religious houses or convents should be organized by and under the direction of a Generalate. This was contrary to the prevailing norm and structure of the congregation then, which gave full autonomy and independence to the houses.
In 1835, Pope Gregory granted approval for the establishment of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, and the convent in that city to be its Mother-House. This made it possible to coordinate the houses that were eventually opened from a central administration. It led to the growth of the congregation, beyond France, across Europe, as well as in other continents.
At the time of her death on April 24, 1868, there were already 110 foundations established in all the five continents. The last of the Good Shepherd houses established during the lifetime of St. Mary Euphrasia was in Rangoon, Burma in 1866. It was from this convent that the first Good Shepherd Irish missionaries were sent to the Philippines. In September 1912, they boarded the ship Shangchoon for the journey to Manila, and to their eventual destination in the Diocese of Lipa in Batangas where they arrived on Oct 4, 1912. It was on the invitation of Bishop Joseph Petrelli that the sisters came.
About three decades later, the Good Shepherd presence would be likewise established in Japan. The first Sisters to begin the ministry in Japan came in response to an invitation from the Dominican Prelate, Most Rev. Andre Dumas, O.P., then Bishop of Sendai. They arrived from Canada on November 20, 1935.