The History of the Centre

Arrival in Brazil. On 10 October 2010, the Franciscan Fraternity of Betania begins its first mission in Brazil, choosing to settle in the São Cristóvão neighbourhood, on the outskirts of Salvador de Bahia.

This is not simply the opening of a new religious house, but the beginning of a real missionary presence alongside the most vulnerable people.

The first brothers and sisters lived in temporary buildings, sharing the daily life of the local community and building bonds through listening, trust and fraternity.

From listening to the needs of the local area, the Centro Nossa Senhora Aparecida is born, dedicated to the Patroness of Brazil.

The Centre is created to offer children from the most vulnerable families a safe, educational environment full of opportunities.

From its earliest years it welcomes more than a hundred children from the surrounding communities, offering educational, formative and recreational activities that also involve their families.

The goal is not only to provide assistance, but to accompany every child in their own human, cultural and spiritual growth, promoting values of solidarity, respect and responsibility.

In the following years, the Centro Nossa Senhora Aparecida becomes a point of reference in the community: alongside activities for children, it also promotes initiatives for human development, family support and spiritual formation. In 2017, construction of the convent also begins.

After more than ten years of missionary presence, the new Convent of the Franciscan Fraternity of Betania is inaugurated.

Built with simple, essential architecture, perfectly integrated into the climate and landscape of Bahia, the convent today represents the spiritual and operational heart of the mission.

After years of educational presence through the nursery school, the Centro Nossa Senhora Aparecida takes a new and decisive step in its journey.

With the laying of the first stone, construction of the Nossa Senhora Aparecida School officially begins. The school will accompany children and young people from age 6 to 18, offering them a complete educational path from primary through to secondary school. It is being built to welcome around 400 students, providing a free, quality education combined with human, social and Christian formation. The project was made possible by the support of Italian Cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Italo-Latin American International Organisation (IILA) and many benefactors who believed in it. With this new undertaking, Father Pancrazio Gaudioso's greatest dream comes true: to offer the children of this community in Salvador not only a place of welcome in their first years of life, but a complete educational path capable of transforming their future.