The Church Community

The Anglican Episcopal Cathedral of The Good Shepherd - Peru is the Cathedral and Mother Church of the Diocese of Peru, which in turn is part of the Anglican Church of South America, one of the provinces of the Anglican Communion. The Cathedral is located in the dynamic and vibrant district of Miraflores, and adjacent to the upper income district of San Isidro, in Lima, the capital city of Peru; a city with a population of approximately 10 million, and with many contrasts: full of history, culture, music, great food, and sightseeing, but with 20% of its population still living in poverty.

Miraflores is a friendly and mainly a middle and upper income district with a variety of attractions, and serves as both a commercial and cultural hub. Although the Cathedral is located within a residential area on Santa Cruz Avenue, the area is gradually turning into a commercial district with supermarkets, a movie theater, hotels, banks, gas stations, popular restaurants, different kinds of stores, offices, and schools, including two international schools (with English speaking curriculums) and two Roman Catholic parish schools.

In addition, the Cathedral is located just a few blocks away from a pre-Inca archaeological site and museum, the “Huaca Pucllana”, which is a major tourist attraction.

The Good Shepherd serves a broad community that is mainly made up of two groups: one is the international English-speaking community, which is scattered throughout the city and most of whom work in embassies, international corporations or schools (there are about seven international English-speaking schools around Lima). They stay for short periods of time (3 to 5 years), although a few others stay for longer periods or even on a permanent basis. The other group is the Anglo-Peruvian community, who are permanent residents in Lima.

Social Outreach

Our Social Work Committee covers a number of activities, including the Arpillera Program, work in the women’s prison in Chorrillos, medical assistance for individual cases, and a Student Support Program. We also assist as a liaison for the British Benevolent Society.

As many people in Peru have been impacted by the global Pandemic, we have started a Food Relief Fund to provide meals for those most in need. Please see the details below to see how you can contribute to this worthy cause.

Teaching handcrafts in the Chorrillos women’s prison - Luisa de Fallaque, a member of The Good Shepherd has, for many years, taught handicrafts at the women’s prison, helping the inmates to earn a small income to pay for their toiletries and other items. We provide craft materials. The items are sold monthly at the Good Shepherd and at various fairs in Lima during the Christmas season.

Anna Sims & the Walking in Liberty team work with foreign English-speaking inmates and ex-offenders incarcerated in the Peruvian prison system, providing them with spiritual support, reading materials and personal supplies.

Student Support Program - The Good Shepherd has a support program for students whose studies have been interrupted for financial reasons, often caused by a sudden family illness or a parent´s loss of work. Currently we are funding 4 students: a male aged 22 studying accountancy, a female aged 27 studying education and working in the mornings, a female aged 18 studying psychology, and a schoolboy aged 14 whose parents have great difficulty in providing his school materials. He plays the guitar in his church services in Villa El Salvador.

Over more than 15 years our program has helped nurses, a mechanic, teachers, physiotherapists, lawyers and computer programmers graduate and find work. Sometimes only 6 months of support have been necessary.

We have several people currently on a waiting list: 1) a 22 year-old woman studying psychology, who had to change her university when it was refused a license by SUNEDU and now faces higher costs. 2) a 25 year-old woman studying psychology and working, who had to abandon her studies after 2 ½ years for economic reasons. She leads the youth ministry in her church. We would especially like to help her in memory of her pastor, Luis Villalobos, a much appreciated Anglican priest who led a parish in an impoverished area of Lima, who died of cancer last year.

Help for an individual student is usually between S/.300 and S/.400 per month.

We are looking for funding to be able to take these students on board. Please consider sponsoring a student or contributing to the general sponsorship fund. For additional information please contact Jean Samaniego at samaniegopritchard@yahoo.co.uk.