{"id":2197,"date":"2026-09-28T16:44:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T19:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/?p=2197"},"modified":"2026-09-28T16:44:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T19:44:53","slug":"filhas-da-cruz-bocaiuva-do-sul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/filhas-da-cruz-bocaiuva-do-sul\/","title":{"rendered":"The Daughters of the Cross in Bocai\u00fava do Sul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bocai\u00fava do Sul \u2013 1965<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1965, at the invitation of Dom Bernardo Nolker, the first Bishop of Paranagu\u00e1, the Daughters of the Cross began a mission in Bocai\u00fava do Sul, Paran\u00e1, serving communities within the Diocese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the Bishop received confirmation that the Sisters would work in the community, construction began on the residence that would welcome them upon their arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Convento
Construction of the new convent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Convento
The Sisters' convent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the Sisters arrived at the new convent, their work among the local population began. An ambulance was made available to facilitate visits to the sick and to transport patients to hospitals in Curitiba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Primeira
First ambulance \u2013 Home visits to the sick.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During this period, the social organization Obras Sociais das Irm\u00e3s Filhas da Cruz was established, expanding the assistance provided in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sisters' Maternity Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the important areas of service carried out by the Daughters of the Cross in Bocai\u00fava do Sul was the care of pregnant women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The institution known as the \u201cSisters' Maternity Home\u201d operated until 1994. According to the historical record, it was closed for political reasons at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gestantes
Pregnant women awaiting the birth of their babies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Congregation fully supported the work, providing food, travel expenses, medicine, and payment for the women who helped prepare meals, clean the facilities and assist during childbirth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the maternity home closed, births under normal circumstances no longer took place in Bocai\u00fava do Sul. Local births were mainly those in which the baby arrived before the mother could reach another place of care or during the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catechesis and Evangelization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the same period, Sisters from the Congregation of Saint John the Baptist the Precursor also arrived to work in catechesis and to assist the priests of the same Congregation, who arrived some time after the Daughters of the Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two Congregations worked in catechesis and evangelization, reaching distant communities throughout the Diocese, both in the Serra region and on the islands of Paranagu\u00e1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mission on the Islands of Paranagu\u00e1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To make it possible to serve the island communities, the Bishop acquired a boat that transported the nursing Sisters of the Daughters of the Cross throughout the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sisters would spend approximately one week on the islands and then return to Bocai\u00fava do Sul, where they remained for about two weeks before another missionary journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The historical record particularly identifies this boat mission as taking place between 1971 and 1973.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Barco
Mission on the islands of Paranagu\u00e1 \u2013 boat mission between 1971 and 1973.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Chegada
Arrival of the mission in the island communities of Paranagu\u00e1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Serving Rural Communities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Visits to the communities were frequent, despite the considerable difficulties involved in reaching many parts of the municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the Daughters of the Cross, Dom Bernardo Nolker obtained the assistance of two nurses from his Diocese in Baltimore, United States, who came to join the work being carried out in Bocai\u00fava do Sul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As care for the sick and pregnant women increased, the Sisters also provided prenatal care, nursing consultations, examinations and medicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Atendimento
Care at the former pharmacy \u2013 Sr. Finbar.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Road conditions made travel particularly difficult. During visits to chapels and rural communities, the Sisters provided care and monitored expectant mothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a pregnant woman was approaching childbirth, she could travel with the Sisters in their jeep to Bocai\u00fava do Sul, where a house was available to accommodate patients and expectant mothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, these women remained there for two or even three months. This could happen because the expected date of birth had been miscalculated or because, after giving birth, they had to wait for the Sisters' next visit to their community in order to return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Visita
Visit by Kelly and Scally to a woman over 100 years old.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Visita
Visit to rural communities \u2013 Sr. Elisabeth, Sisters of Saint John the Baptist, and Sr. Jeanne.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Atendimento
Poverty in the rural areas of Bocai\u00fava do Sul \u2013 Sr. Maureen.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Ir.
\u201cBut what suffering...\u201d \u2013 Sr. Jeanne.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Presence Marked by Service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The history of the Daughters of the Cross in Bocai\u00fava do Sul reflects a presence that extended far beyond the walls of the convent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Care for the sick, support for pregnant women, journeys to distant communities, catechesis and evangelization were all part of a mission carried out in places where access and resources were often limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This presence remains part of the memory of these communities and is preserved in the historical photographs that bear witness to an important chapter in the work of the Daughters of the Cross in Paran\u00e1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Desde 1965, as Filhas da Cruz desenvolveram em Bocai\u00fava do Sul uma miss\u00e3o marcada pelo cuidado com os doentes, acompanhamento de gestantes, assist\u00eancia \u00e0s comunidades do interior, catequese e evangeliza\u00e7\u00e3o.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-filhas-da-cruz-no-brasil"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2197"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2218,"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197\/revisions\/2218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irfilhasdacruz.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}