While more known as a favorite Holy Week Destination, the Good Shepherd compound located in Banawa, Cebu City, is has a story to tell: one of a call and dedicated service to a community in great need. The sisters of the Religious of the Good Shepherd were visited by the then Archbishop of Cebu at a convent in Quezon City where he signed the guestbook with “It is my dream to see the Good Shepherd in Cebu.” In 1951, at the request of Archbishop Rosales, the then mother-superior approved for the foundation of a house in Cebu. The sisters came to Cebu to look for suitable place to establish a house and found it first in Talisay, then, through the help of generous benefactors such as Fr. Venerando Reyes who owned property in Banawa, Guadalupe.
In September 1953, the emerging site encountered a problem of a non-existent water supply; against the backdrop of this problem, a Statue of the Immaculate Conception, given as a gift by Archbishop Rosales, was placed at the front of the property, being completed in January 1954. On March 12, 1955, with the help of engineers, Don Gil Garcia (President of VECO at the time) water was struck and the water was declared as safe by the 26th of the same month. In thanksgiving for the source of clean water, a Statue of St. Joseph was erected on May 1, 1961. At the base of the statue is a relief detailing a prayer to St. Joseph and an intercession to those who helped secure water. The chapel was erected during the 1960s. During the times of Martial Law, the convent became a place where local youth groups would meet.
Today, the compound is home to a host of different facilities, but is most known for the Celestial Garden and their retreat house facilities. It is now part of the storied old memories of Cebu.
Sources:
100 Years in the Philippines: A Coffee Table Book of the Religious of the Good Shepherd. (Manila: Religious of the Good Shepherd, 2013).
“Holy Week 2024: Good Shepherd in Banawa—Experiencing the Hills and Tranquility as You Pray,” Cebu Daily News, December 6, 2024. https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/…/holy-week-2024….
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