The Good Shepherd Sisters are an international order of Sisters with almost a 400-year history of serving primarily women and children who have been abused or exploited in some way.
Internationally, the Sisters are currently in 73 countries working in areas such as domestic violence, human trafficking, prostituted women, addiction recovery, services for abused children, residential treatment centers for teens, prison ministry, family support and counseling centers, education for women and especially for girls in developing countries, skills training and income-generating programs for the poor, especially women, self-sufficiency programs and much more.
In 1932, a small group of Sisters arrived in San Francisco to build a residential treatment center and school for girls who were placed by the juvenile justice system. The Sisters arrived with nothing and quickly raised all the necessary funds to build a convent and The University Mound School for Girls. Â During the next 78 years in San Francisco, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd brought together an extraordinary list of donors and philanthropists to its cause, and its mission to serve girls in trouble.
The Sisters often needed to care for their high school graduates who had nowhere to go after graduation. They began to dream of providing a transitional residence for these girls so that they could live in a real home and go out to college and work. In 1961, the Sisters and the donors gathered together all the local Unions who generously built Grace Cottage, providing all the labor and materials for free. It was named after Grace Finlay, one of the major donors. It still runs today as Good Shepherd Gracenter, still helping young women in trouble and with nowhere else to go.
The Arrival of the Sisters in the U.S.
Good Shepherd History in U.S.
The U.S. foundation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd (founded under the name Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd) began in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 1, 1842. Our Foundress Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier chose five Sisters to form houses in the New World. The Sisters came to Louisville, KY from the General Motherhouse at Angers, France. They ranged in age from 24 to 29 and spoke three languages among them.
Sisters arrive by sea
The Sisters came by sea on the immigration ship Utica. After 30 days of miserable traveling conditions, they eventually arrived in the southern tip of Manhattan, New York, and were processed through Castle Garden. Ellis Island did not become became operational until 1892, almost 50 years later. From Castle Garden, the Sisters migrated to Louisville, KY. These brave and adventurous Sisters laid the foundation for the growth of the Good Shepherd Order in the United States of America.
Good Shepherd History In San Francisco
“Begin to weave
and
God will give you the thread”
St. Mary Euphrasia, founded the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in 1835 to serve women and girls who had been abused or exploited in some way and needed a chance at a new life. Today, the Sisters are continuing this mission in 73 countries. Archbishop E.J. Hanna invited the Sisters to come to San Francisco in 1932 to provide services for teenage girls in crisis.
That same year, two Sisters stepped into the office of the president of Hibernian Bank, Cyril Tobin, and asked to borrow money to build a rather large house. Mr. Tobin asked them about collateral and, after some moments of silence, one of the Sisters offered him the house after it was built. He roared with laughter. Thus began a life-long friendship that gifted the Sisters with a very low interest rate along with the help of a great supporter.   The old adage “Begin to weave and God will give you the thread” aptly applies to this story.
From 1932 to 1977, The Sisters owned and operated “University Mound School” which served more than 5,000 teenaged girls—most of whom were placed by the juvenile courts or social service agencies of Northern California. In 1977, due to changes in the federal standards for juvenile facilities and the dwindling public funding, the Sisters chose to close that program and investigate other ways to serve vulnerable young women in need of safety and services.
The Sisters sold most of the property and buildings but kept enough property to build a smaller convent for  the Sisters and they kept Grace Cottage which was a transitional house built in 1961 through the efforts of a tireless benefactor, Grace Finley. The building was named after her because she had rallied 21 unions and 52 businesses to donate their time and materials to construct it.
A variety of ministries was tried. Grace Clinic, a mental health clinic was the first.  In 1977, the focus changed to creating a residence with a new name—Gracenter—for young women who were homeless and needed help. The Sisters also sought to address a need expressed by the police and court system—a residential program for prostituted women who were interested in changing their lives. This ministry flourished for a time and even made headlines (found in numerous newspaper clippings including photos) when a judge sentenced a famous madam to Gracenter.
In time, Gracenter served as a shelter for women living on the streets. Then in the 1980’s the Sisters sought a more effective ministry for these women—most of whom were dealing with drug addiction issues. After much consultation, they established a licensed drug and alcohol treatment program which could accommodate 13 women. Later, an off-campus sober living house was added for women who had completed the program and wished to stay longer to stabilize their recovery. The Twelve Step spirituality was at the heart of the program, calling the women to recovery and creating a new and healthy life.
After 22 years as a primary drug and alcohol treatment center, complications and financial concerns challenged the Sisters to discern the need for a change once again. The question of great importance for the Sisters was “how do we preserve the spiritual core of the program that we believe is at the heart of recovery and continue to offer it to women who can truly benefit from our focus and who are seeking deep and lasting recovery?”
The Sisters decided to simplify, downsize and create a transitional sober living residence with supportive recovery services. By maintaining their license, they would still meet the state requirements for such a facility. The license allowed the Sisters to continue to offer residential care, case management, some classes and recovery mentoring. This downsizing also gave Gracenter the ability to continue into the future and maintain the Twelve-Step orientation.
They hired new staff to accommodate the new staffing schedules and discovered to their surprise that a number of those who applied for the positions were past residents from the 80’s, 90’s and more recently. For a time, there is also a Gracenter graduate on our Board of Directors.
On March 1, 2010, the Sisters and staff officially celebrated the opening of our unique program that offered both transitional housing and recovery services. Four women who had recently completed the Gracenter treatment program became our first residents. The opening celebration included a House Blessing in which we prayed that those who reside in the house would find life-giving hope, serenity, and meaning for their lives through the Twelve-Steps. We asked that the walls of the house would ring with gratitude for the wisdom and action that offer sobriety and the wonder of the miracle of sobriety that is so God given.
We wonder if the two Sisters of 1932 ever imagined that their one act on that particular day would continue this weaving for generations after them. They challenge us to extend our weaving in the world of today for the sake of women who need the support to overcome what happened in their past and choose meaningful lives that will in turn, touch others’ lives in the future.
Current Community of Sisters in San Francisco
Original Community in San Francisco
The Good Shepherd Sisters are an international order of Sisters with almost a 400-year history of serving primarily women and children who have been abused or exploited in some way. Although we have been in San Francisco for 87 years we are not well known because our corporate ministries have always been about protecting the identities and dignity of those we serve so our own identity has also been somewhat hidden…until now!
Internationally, the Sisters are currently in 73 countries working in areas such as domestic violence, human trafficking, prostituted women, addiction recovery, services for abused children, residential treatment centers for teens, prison ministry, family support and counseling centers, education for women and especially for girls in developing countries, skills training and income-generating programs for the poor, especially women, self-sufficiency programs and much more.
In addition to our corporate ministries, many of the Sisters also bring their Good Shepherd charism to other ministries in their area. For example, here in San Francisco, Sr. Jean Marie Fernandez, RGS, serves at the St. Vincent de Paul Multi-Service Center South (MSC-South), Sr. Danielle Fung, RGS, serves at Pomeroy Recreation and Rehabilitation Center that provides recreational, vocational and educational opportunities for people with disabilities, Sr. Olga Cristobal, RGS, serves as a chaplain at Laguna Honda Hospital and Sr. Anne Kelley, RGS, and Sr. Marguerite Bartling, RGS, both serve in the Sisters’ corporate ministry, Good Shepherd Gracenter.
We also use our collective experience and voice to advocate for the poor, the disadvantaged, the marginalized, the exploited and the abused through our National Advocacy Center in Washington DC and our NGO at the UN where the Sisters have special consultative status on issues of women and children and, in particular, the girl child.
Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Province of Mid North America:Â
www.sistersofthegoodshepherd.com
Good Shepherd Volunteers:
Full-time volunteer experience domestically (1 yr)
or internationally (2)Â www.goodshepherdvolunteers.org
Sisters of the Good Shepherd at the UN:
http://sistersofthegoodshepherd.com/shadowing-winifred-united-nations/
National Advocacy Center of the sisters of the Good Shepherd:
www.gsadvocacy.org/
Most of the current S.F. community today.
Internationally, the Sisters are in 73 countries:
The international website is:Â http://rgs.gssweb.org
