Reeks 0001 - Peru Annals

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke, Ontario had a mission in Peru focused on providing access to education and healthcare. Though the mission formally closed in 2005, the Sisters, now part of the amalgamated Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada, continue to support charitable efforts in the area.

In 1964, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate expressed a desire for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke, Ontario to collaborate on apostolic endeavors in Chincha Alta, Peru. Mother St. Thomas (Mary) McGaghran and Sister Mary Desmond (Clare) Gallagher traveled to Peru to get a sense of the project. On April 17, 1964, nursing Sisters Mary (Emma) Varney and Hedwig (Edna) Prince left Canada with Kevin Blacquiere, a lay volunteer and teacher, to provide education and healthcare in Peru. The Sisters arrived in Chincha Alta on May 7, 1964, to a three-bedroom apartment above what would become their first clinic.

On November 2, 1964, the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, the Sisters opened the medical clinic, Clinica San Martin, in Chincha Alta which they continued to operate until April 1970. A second medical clinic, Clinica Tom Dooley, was opened January 1, 1966, in Chincha Baja and operated until 1969. After three years of living in the small apartment above the Clinica San Martin, the Sisters built St. Joseph’s Convent on a vacant lot next door to the Parish.
On September 19,1964 teaching Sisters Callista (Nora) Kelly, Edna (Teresa) Rice, and Christina (Maria) Mousseau left Canada for Peru with two Oblate priests. Once the teaching Sisters settled, they began an all-boys parish school, Colegio San Jose, in Chincha Alta on April 1, 1965, though the official opening of the school was not until November 28th. Sister Edana later formed Club Maria Goretti, a recreational and athletics club for teenage girls. The club evolved to include religious, social, and educational activities. In 1966, due to the requests of the local community, the parish school welcomed girls to attend as well. The Sisters also taught English to adults and began offering home-making classes to women in Chincha Alta in March of 1970.

While on mission in Peru, the Sisters participated in the parish catechetical program which operated out of the school and a mission chapel. Together with the priests and twelve young catechists, around 500 children received instruction. By 1966, the catechetical program expanded to five centers across the parish.

The Sisters also served as administrators of churches and attended to social needs within the parishes, hosted retreats, operated a family integration program (also referred to as Marriage Encounters), taught evening classes for adults to learn English, and sought to animate Christian communities. While in Peru the Sisters worked closely with the Damas, a committee of women who made the altar beads and looked after the vestments and altar linens for the Church of Our Lady of Fatima. The Sisters also assisted in the operation of a Caritas Centre where they distributed food and clothing to those in need under the “Food for Peace” program.

On May 31, 1970, the Ancash earthquake hit Peru. With no damage done to the area the Sisters worked and lived in, an Oblate priest drove all the remaining medical supplies from the recently closed Clinica San Martin, as well as food and clothing, to the areas effected by the quake. Unfortunately, the Lima earthquake on October 3, 1974, heavily damaged Chincha Alta. The Sisters worked with lay leaders in the community to assess the needs of those within the parish and aided where they could.

The Sisters continued their work across Peru, though their focus was primarily on the Chincha Valley. In 1976, Sister Constance Lacroix began working in Comas with the leadership program of Family Orientation of the Parish Lord of the Miracles. In 1977, Sisters assisted in the creation of Christian communities in Chincha Baja where anyone could come to experience religious life or to go on a spiritual retreat. These communities were called the House of Mary Immaculate and the Servants of God. The Sisters were also involved with local movements and began working with Fraternidad de los Enfermos, a movement for people with physical handicaps, in 1978. In 1979, the Sisters began working in Pueblo Nuevo as well.

Renovations to expand St. Joseph’s Convent in Chincha Alta began in 1980 and a novitiate was opened in 1982. In January 1989, the Pembroke Sisters hosted an Assembly of all the Sisters of St. Joseph working in Peru at Colegio San Jose in Chincha Alta.

In 1984, seven women became Associates (Co-Hermanas) of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke in Peru. This meant that they would serve the Lord without making any formal vows and had their own Statues. Five more women joined in 1985. Over the years the Associates collaborated on the administration and fundraising for a home for the aged, the scholarship program, liturgical tasks, social assistance, first aid, ministry to the sick and aged, and in the welcoming ministry of Bethany House in Pueblo Nuevo. In 1983, the Congregation gifted $10,000 for the building of a home for the aged in Chincha Alta which opened in 1997. The Associates opened a mission in La Calera, Peru, in 1990.

Throughout their endeavors in Peru, the Sisters often collaborated with other religious communities besides the Oblates. In February 1973, Pembroke Sisters traveled to Aucayacu with two Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of St. John, New Brunswick to provide healthcare and education to the Peruvians there. Pembroke Sister Rosario went off on a mission to Antabamba with the Sacred Heart Sisters in 1994.

The Peru Mission formally closed in 2005, but the Sisters continued their charitable efforts in the Chincha valley, particularly with supporting educational scholarships and distributing food and clothing to those in need through the Caritas Centre. The Sisters also supported other charitable projects in the area, such as health and water projects and relief efforts after natural disasters, such as the 2017 mud slide. As of 2024, Sisters María Choquez and Gloria Muchypiña, continue the charism and work to assist the people of Chincha Valley. Sister Pauline Coulterman, who lived and worked in Peru for 23 years, continues to raise funds for Peru in Canada. Sister Pauline invited Canadian volunteers to visit Peru for two weeks to assist with the many projects the Sisters are involved in.