선한 목자 예수 수녀회

History & origins

The Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd was founded in 1938, and its mission in Korea grew out of an invitation from Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, then Archbishop of Seoul, together with a period of discernment within the congregation. After Sister Alberta Scarlett visited Korea in 1979 to study the local situation, plans for a Korean foundation developed in earnest. In April 1983 the superior general and her council approved the foundation, and in August of that year the first missionary sisters arrived in Seoul. They began community life in the building of St. Paul Bookstore in Nonhyeon-dong, establishing a base for their apostolate in Korea.

The early community did not remain solely a group of foreign missionaries but invested in the formation of Korean vocations. The first Korean member who had received formation in the Philippines returned in 1985, and several candidates entered the following year. As the community grew, a motherhouse building was completed and blessed in Gireum-dong in November 1986. The Korean community, which had begun in temporary quarters, thus gained a stable base for religious life, formation, and apostolic service at the site that remains its center today.

The sisters subsequently expanded their work around parish ministry and gave pastoral attention to children and families, migrants, and other people in vulnerable circumstances. The Gireum-dong motherhouse therefore embodies the early history of the congregation’s Korean mission and its growth. It remains historically significant as the center from which the Korean community has sought to embody the spirit of the Good Shepherd within the local Church. The later expansion of apostolates shows that the Gireum-dong motherhouse became more than an administrative center: it became the practical point from which Korean members were formed, community discernment took place, and sisters were sent to serve local churches. The history of the congregation in Korea thus developed around a continuing connection between religious life within the motherhouse and pastoral service beyond it.