Good Shepherd Convent
"They conquer who believe they can"
The history of the Good Shepherd
Convent, Kotahena, Colombo 13,
Sri Lanka set out below was compiled
in 1994.
The Beginning
The Order of the Good Shepherd Sisters had been in existence for forty years in Angers, France, when a plea was made in 1867 by Bishop Sillani of Colombo to its Founder, Mother St. Marie Euphrasia Pelletier requesting the setting up of a Convent in Colombo for the education of young ladies and the caring of orphans.
Thus it was that a group of four European nuns arrived in Galle Harbour on 13 April 1869. They travelled to Colombo in a horse drawn carriage and on the same day, after a thanksgiving service at St Lucia's Church (as it was
The Beginning
The Order of the Good Shepherd Sisters had been in existence for forty years in Angers, France, when a plea was made in 1867 by Bishop Sillani of Colombo to its Founder, Mother St. Marie Euphrasia Pelletier requesting the setting up of a Convent in Colombo for the education of young ladies and the caring of orphans.
Thus it was that a group of four European nuns arrived in Galle Harbour on 13 April 1869. They travelled to Colombo in a horse drawn carriage and on the same day, after a thanksgiving service at St Lucia's Church (as it was
then called) in Kotahena, were
installed in the Convent of the Sacred
Heart, which the Bishop had already
built for them.
A New School
The Sisters opened their new school, which was housed in the Convent, on 1st May 1869. It was a small beginning with only eight pupils from the vicinity, the children of Portuguese and Sinhalese parents.
The House of Prayer
The first undertaking of the Sisters was the erection of a chapel and the task of designing and constructing it was entrusted to Fr. Tabarrani, who was regarded as the 'Michael Angelo' of Ceylon. He built a beautiful chapel which was consecrated on 21st June 1879, with help from Catholics of the
A New School
The Sisters opened their new school, which was housed in the Convent, on 1st May 1869. It was a small beginning with only eight pupils from the vicinity, the children of Portuguese and Sinhalese parents.
The House of Prayer
The first undertaking of the Sisters was the erection of a chapel and the task of designing and constructing it was entrusted to Fr. Tabarrani, who was regarded as the 'Michael Angelo' of Ceylon. He built a beautiful chapel which was consecrated on 21st June 1879, with help from Catholics of the
Colombo vicariate, which was all
the more appreciated as at the
time the Cathedral of St. Lucia was
also under construction.
St Anne's Boarding
The next priority was the construction of an orphanage.
By the early 1870s there were about 100 day scholars and the few orphans who lived in the school and used the classrooms to sleep in at night.
Legend has it that one night, before the onset of a severe storm, a beautiful lady appeared to the children and asked them to leave the building. A few moments after they had done as they were told the building collapsed.
The need for a permanent building
St Anne's Boarding
The next priority was the construction of an orphanage.
By the early 1870s there were about 100 day scholars and the few orphans who lived in the school and used the classrooms to sleep in at night.
Legend has it that one night, before the onset of a severe storm, a beautiful lady appeared to the children and asked them to leave the building. A few moments after they had done as they were told the building collapsed.
The need for a permanent building