A Celebration of 33 years of the Foundation in Bom Sucesso, Lisbon.

A celebration to mark the 33^rd Anniversary of the Irish Dominican Sisters’ Social Welfare Foundation (Fundacao Obra Social das Religiosas Dominicanas Irlandesas) took place in Bom Sucesso, Lisbon, on March 12^th, 2026.

There were various aspects to the celebration including input by Joao Sales Luis, President of the Administrative Council of FOSRDI and a presentation on the Cultural and Social Development Society by Luisa Sousa Coutinho. The evening also included a video of the three Centres, Colegio do Bom Sucesso, Casinha da Nossa Senhora and the Centro Sagrada Familia. Mass was celebrated followed by a reception.

Senhor Joao Sales Luis began his presentation with a reminder of the command “to make disciples of all the nations for the sharing of the Church’s Universal Mission to bring the liberating message of the Gospel where it is most needed today. He emphasised that the Foundation wishes to do this through Education and Social Action as carried out at the three above Centres.

To fulfil its mission, he said, the Foundation pursues the following objectives:

Education, in nursery, pre-school, primary and secondary school levels.

Vocational Training and Support for families and the community through its Familias com Alma project.

Promoting Christian Values with a focus on Dominican Spirituality, through pastoral work adapted to the whole community, including its employees.

He emphasised the value of having monthly meetings with the heads of the three Centres and the Pastoral Coordinator to share experiences and assist in decisions with a widespread impact on the Foundation.

Senhor Joao spoke of the Dominican values of Social Justice, Responsibility, Affection, Solidarity and Transparency which guide the activities at each of the three Centres.

Through the Familia com Alma Community Project, he said, that families benefit from monthly food assistance, a social canteen programme, training in Education and Employment. It also promotes several initiatives that provide opportunities for sharing and socializing to support the families.

Luisa Sousa Coutinho gave a lively presentation on the Cultural and Social Development Society. She stressed that this venture was initiated to manage the use of Convent Bom Sucesso for private, family and corporate events with the aim of generating additional revenue for cultural and social projects.

The main objective is to develop a financial model that supports two projects – the Heritage Conservation and Restoration Project and the Project Familias com Alma. She showed slides of the restoration work on the tile panels inaugurated in July 2025, not only for the recovery of a heritage element of high artistic value but also for enabling the creation of a multipurpose room. This space she said will allow for information sessions, training activities, parent meetings and other academic initiatives, as well as book launches and family events such as weddings, and birthday celebrations.

Luisa also hopes to promote cultural artistic and institutional events, audio visual productions such as advertising shoots, product launches, guided tours and workshops. One such social event was the hosting of an Irish night of music, dance and Guinness to mark the Feast of St Patrick.

Before the Eucharist there was an unveiling of the restored painting of the first Prioress of the Convent of Bom Sucesso.