Celebrating Twenty-five Years of Presence in Hopin, Myanmar

           A BRIEF HISTORY

           At the request of the Bishop Paul Ambrose Bigadet, the Good Shepherd Sisters first set foot on Myanmar in 1866 to take over the education ministry in the campus of St. John the Baptist’s Catholic Church, at Bo Sun Pet Street, Yangon. As the years went by, the Sisters expanded the mission around Yangon responding to the needs of the time. There was a continuous flow of missionaries from the Mother House, France to promote the Good Shepherd Mission in Myanmar. Some of the outstanding ministries at the time are:  St. John’s High School which has become No. 2, Basic Education High School, Latha, St. Philomena’s girls’ High School. At present day No. 2 Basic Education High School Sanchaung, and St. Vincent’s School which has become the venue of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar.

           In 1912, Sr. Alphonsus Ligouri Bourke with two more missionaries from Myanmar were sent to establish a new foundation in the Philippines. In 1917, the German Club adjacent to No.2 State High School Latha was purchased by the Good Shepherd Sisters and became St. John’s Convent community. The Japanese invasion in 1941 was a time of chaos for the Sisters. They closed the schools and escape from the Japanese to the towns of Kalaw and Myitkyina. In 1945 when the Japanese were defeated by British and Myanmar allies, the sisters re-entered their Convents and opened the schools. The Sisters extended their ministries to Mogok during this time and to Thayetmyo in 1962.