Hogar del Buen Pastor Home Page

Ruth Merino Méndez

rmerino@elnuevodia.com

Synopsis by:

Teodoro J. González

tjg@tropical.bz

It was 1992. Sister Rosemarie Gonzalez, in her habit of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, had an encounter with a boy of about nine years in San Juan, PR.

The boy, whose name was Joy, inspired her to redirect her vocation. A vocation which become manifest when she was nine years old.

Sister was born in San Juan, PR and was four years old when her family relocated to New York state where she lived for the next ten years.

Upon returning to Puerto Rico, she attended the Academia del Perpetuo Socorro, in Miramar, San Juan. Although she was active in social activities and participated in the musical theatrical presentations of the Academy her vocation to serve the Lord continued to grow. And

to wait until she was 21 to follow her vocation. But then she became critically ill with Asthmatic Bronchitis. When she did not respond to treatment and medications her Father became desperate and gave his permission for her to enter the Convent. Call it what you will, but almost overnight, she miraculously recovered.

Her religious life started in the States in 1960 upon graduating from high school. Eventually

she returned to Puerto Rico where she served initially as an assistant, later as director of a program for novices with other experiences in the Dominican Republic, the Holy Land and Rome. At the time of the encounter with Joy, she had been serving a second and final term as Mother Superior for Puerto Rico and was into the process of meditation in search of guidance as to where to follow her ministry. Joy settled the issue when he confronted Sister with what to do with a man laying in the street. One year later, in February of 1993, the Hogar del Buen Pastor opened its doors to care for the homeless.

At present, El Hogar has a capacity for 50 residents in four floors of a building. The institution now owns the building, which. incidentally, is located precisely in front of the sidewalk of the encounter with Joy. And Joy, who would now be about 26 years old apparently does not know that he was the inspiration for the creation of El Hogar. In spite of attempts to find him, he has not been seen or heard of since the encounter.

so it was, that shortly prior to graduating she took her parents by surprise when she announced that she wanted to enter the Convent of the School Sisters of Notre Dame upon graduating.

Her parents were in agreement in denying her permission to enter the convent. She was 18 at the time and, though disappointed and sad, realized that she would have