Module 2
Module 2
1934 to 1959 – from the beginning of the work with the most needy to the founding of the Sister Dulce Social Works.
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“CHURCH ON THE GO”
THE HIGHEST EXPRESSION OF LOVE
Saint Dulce of the Poor transcended the limits of the convent, going to the streets to care for the neediest. She was a “Church going forth” – a term used by Pope Francis in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium – helping people who needed material and spiritual support. With an intense need to encounter the Christ of the Passion in the pain of the helpless, she voluntarily undertook her daily via crucis, embodying the suffering of the poor and embracing the cross of Christ.
Throughout her journey of love and service, she gave countless proof of her ability to overcome limits and anticipate social advances to help those most in need. Her actions exemplify the diversity of her leadership and how she was always ahead of her time, making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. Saint Dulce of the Poor, as is typical of saints, “anticipated” the Second Vatican Council, which understood that consecrated religious life must be a leaven of love in the world.
SaInt Dulce of the Poor next to a sick person.
THE YOUNG NUN'S FIRST MISSIONS
At 20, after taking temporary vows, Saint Dulce of the Poor returned to Salvador in September 1934. Her first mission was at the Spanish Hospital, working as a nursing assistant, sacristan, X-ray technician and receptionist. In February 1935, she started on her second mission: teaching Geography and History at the Saint Bernadete School, located in the Penha Convent, run by her congregation. However, the dream of dedicating herself entirely to people in need persisted in her heart. It didn't take long for this wish to become reality.
Students at Colégio Saint Bernadete, where Saint Dulce of the Poor taught Geography and History, in 1935.
In one of her roles at the Spanish Hospital, her first mission as a nun.
SUPPORT FOR THE WORKING CLASS
Saint Dulce of the Poor received permission from her superior to dedicate herself to the needy. In 1935, she began working for the benefit of the working class, visiting the factories at noon and evangelizing the employees at the end of the workday. Later, she began to visit the families of the workers and promoting baptisms, weddings, catechism and caring for the sick. She felt happy to share the message of Jesus Christ with these people. In 1946, she led the campaign to enthrone the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in several factories in Itapagipe. At the Penha Factory, in Ribeira neigborhood, she opened a library with 50 books, Catholic newspapers and magazines.
On November 1, 1936, Saint Dulce of the Poor and Friar Hildebrando founded the Saint Francis Workers Union, an institution dedicated to the social and religious support of workers in the industrial region of Itapagipe. At that time, there were no laws to protect the working class. In 1937, this organization became the Workers' Circle of Bahia (COB), an entity with the same purpose and which expanded throughout the country. Saint Dulce of the Poor and Friar Hildebrando cared for workers and their families, opening doors of inclusion for those who were relegated to invisibility.
Saint Dulce of the Poor in one of the factories, where she evangelized the workers during the hours allowed by the employers.
The first board of directors of the Saint Francis Workers Union. Between the two Franciscan friars are: Saint Dulce of the Poor, Sister Mathya and Sister Nazareth.
ENTREPRENEUR AT THE FOREFRONT
In order to raise funds to maintain the services provided by the Worker Circle of Bahia (COB), Saint Dulce of the Poor and Friar Hildebrando built three movie-theater in Salvador: Roma, Plataforma and São Caetano. As the organization grew, they dedicated themselves to building a new headquarters in Largo de Roma. During the construction, the nun suggested that the facade of the new building be completed before the rest, in order to encourage donors to facilitate fundraising. This idea surprised the engineer Norberto Odebrecht, who recognized the cleverness of the proposal. Some time later, he defined Saint Dulce of the Poor as one of the greatest entrepreneurs he had ever known. The inauguration of the new headquarters of the Worker Circle of Bahia took place on November 21, 1948, with the presence of president Eurico Gaspar Dutra.
The new building of the Worker Circle of Bahia, in construction. A project that was designed and executed by the mother and father of the poor: Saint Dulce of the Poor and Friar Hildebrando.
The families of workers were also assisted by the Worker Circle of Bahia (COB), with medical and dental care, professional training courses, basic education for children, among others.
OCCUPATIONS OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACES
Starting in 1939, Saint Dulce of the Poor began a long journey, occupying public and private spaces to shelter people in social vulnerability. This initiative culminated in the founding of the Sister Dulce Social Works (OSID), on May 26, 1959. The houses on Ilha dos Ratos (Rat's island) Street, the workshops of the Bahian Navigation Company, the arches on the hill of the Bonfim Church, the old Fish Market and the Chicken Coop of the Saint Anthony Convent were the route of the pilgrimage with her poor.
Helping the poor and sick living on the streets.
“If necessary, I would start all over again, the same way, walking the same path of difficulties, because Faith, which never abandons me, would give me the strength to always move forward.”
Saint Dulce of the Poor.
• THE STREET OF RAT ISLAND
In 1939, on a quiet afternoon, Saint Dulce of the Poor was on her way to the Penha Convent, where she lived, when she found a sick boy on the sidewalk, begging for help. Impulsively, she took him to Conselheiro Nabuco Square, known as Rat’s island Street. She took the boy into an empty house, with the help of a young man, who broke down the door in response to her request. This gesture multiplied, attracting more sick people, leading her to break down more doors. Even facing resistance from the owners of the occupied houses, she continued to care for those in need, sowing the seeds of the beginning of the Sister Dulce Social Works.
•THE BAHIAN SHIPPING COMPANY WORKSHOPS
After vacating the houses on Rat’s island Street, Saint Dulce of the Poor obtained authorization to install her patients in the workshops of the Bahia Navigation Company. To support her mission, she tirelessly sought donations in the region, becoming a well-known figure. At the age of 26, she led several social actions in favor of workers and their families, and also took care of the medical clinic and pharmacy of the Worker Circle of Bahia (COB). She completed the Pharmacy Officer course in 1941 and the Social Service Assistant course in 1947.
Diplomas in technical training as a Pharmacy Officer, in 1941, and as a Social Service Assistant, in 1947.
• THE SANCTUARY OF BONFIM LORD AND THE OLD MARKET OF FISH
In 1945, she had to leave the shelter set up at the Bahian Navigation Company, because the place was undergoing renovation works. She took her poor people to the arches on the hill of the Bonfim Lord Sanctuary, but was soon asked to leave the place by Mayor Wanderley de Pinho, because the temple was already a famous tourist spot in the city. She identified another place to stay in the region, the old fish market, but was once again warned by the mayor and asked to leave. The difficulties she was experiencing in caring for her poor people were a source of great anguish in her heart.
Sanctuary of Bonfim Lord, one of the places where Saint Dulce of the Poor sheltered her patients. Attitude which bothered the city authorities.
• THE CHICKEN COOP OF THE SAINT ANTHONY CONVENT
Faced with so many rejections, she asked the superior of the convent, Sister Gaudência, for permission to use the space in the chicken coop of the Saint Anthony Convent, where they had recently lived. She adapted the environment with the help of volunteers and fed her poor with a delicious chicken soup. It was 1949. In this place, with more tranquility, Saint Dulce of the Poor continued her work. However, people continued to arrive and, in addition to the chicken coop, they were also accommodated in the surroundings of the Convent and the Worker Circle of Bahia (COB), bringing together a multitude of needy brothers. The chicken coop became a small outpatient clinic. As she said: “love builds and solidifies”. This attitude was an act of Compassion, because the pain of others was her pain.
Space in the chicken coop of the Saint Anthony Convent, where Santa Dulce of the Poor housed her poor in 1949. The inicial point of the Sister Dulce Social Works.
“From the first day I put the sick in the henhouse, I was convinced that everything works out because I am just an instrument of God.”
Saint Dulce of the Poor
WELCOME TO THE ALAGADOS (FLOODED) COMMUNITY
In 1948, a new invasion in Caminho da Areia (Sand Way) emerged. With the population growth, Salvador was facing a housing shortage, affecting the poorest people. The first shacks were built on the narrow strip of land and expanded into the marshy areas between the tide and the mangrove swamp, forming the largest stilt-house favela in the country, the Alagados. The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, led by Saint Dulce of the Poor, began to help the community with healthcare, food, education and Christian guidance. In the 1950s, the nun created a solidarity network, establishing a breast-feeding bank for mothers who had recently given birth with tuberculosis. Healthy mothers breast-fed the babies of sick mothers, maximizing the concept of responsible motherhood. Saint Dulce of the Poor was one of the pioneers in creating the Human Milk Bank.
It would later became law on May 1988, the month of her birth. The press in Salvador affectionately nicknamed her the “Blue Angel of Alagados”, recognizing her tireless dedication to the community.
Comprehensive assistance to the Alagados community.
THE ACCIDENT THAT SHOCKED SALVADOR
In 1952, a tragic accident shook the city. On the morning of January 5, the sisters of the Saint Anthony Convent were surprised by a loud bang, followed by desperate screams. The Ribeira branch bus, number 6214, collided with an electric tram in front of the nuns' residence, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries. The sisters of the convent were the first to arrive to help. In a courageous act, Saint Dulce of the Poor, helped by Sister Hilaria, climbed on a box and broke the side windowfrom the bus with a rock and managed to save several people who were trapped in the wreckage, risking their own lives.
The accident was the headline of the Diário de Notícias newspaper on January 6, 1952.
THE FOUNDATION OF SOCIAL WORKS SISTER DULCE
In the late 1950s, Santa Dulce of the Poor continued to care for her needy brothers and sisters in the precarious facilities of the old chicken coop and surrounding area. Children rescued from the streets were sheltered in wooden huts set up in front of the Convent. Her social work was already known and recognized by society. In 1959, on the date she turned 45, on May 26, the founding ceremony of the Sister Dulce Social Works took place. In July of that same year, the governor, Juracy Magalhães, saw her work up close and encouraged her to build a better shelter for her patients. So, with the support of the state government, Bahian society and the COB, which donated the space, it was decided to build the Saint Anthony Shelter.
The children living in the sheds received the attention and affection they needed.
Founding ceremony of the Sister Dulce Social Works, on May 26, 1959.
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