Brazil

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In 1972, the Bishop of Caico Diocese, Dom Manuel Tavares de Araujo, lacked priests for his rural parishes. His request for sisters from Maine received a positive answer, and the mission of Jardim de Piranhas was entrusted to them in June 1973. Since 1978, the Good Shepherd Sisters have been present in Natal, in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. They have initiated programs to help single mothers and their children, and receive women victims of prostitution. In their ministries, the sisters were soon supported by a group of women who started the Good Shepherd Affiliation in 1980. 

Today the mission is directed towards faith education, individual and group accompaniment, social work among children and adults, and all forms of parish pastoral involvements. The Congregation maintains a children’s center in an underprivileged area and a training center for women in need, in partnership with common interest groups. .