Who We Are

Home Director
Sr. Margarita Chipa Castillo

We are the Congregation of “Dominican Sisters of Saint Rose of Lima,” founded in Cusco in 1701. Our charism is “The missionary proclamation of the Word of God, compassionate and merciful”. Living and carrying out this charism in the spirit of the Beatitudes through itinerant apostolate in rural and urban areas, we are governed by our Fundamental Constitution. Our supreme rule of life is the following of Christ, dedicating ourselves fully to the apostolate, to the assistance of children and youth, and to human and religious education, based on the principles of our Christian faith with a Dominican and Saint Rose-inspired character.

Eleven years ago, we, the sisters of the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Saint Rose of Lima in the city of Cusco, Peru, became aware of the situation faced by many girls in the Cusco region, aged between 12 and 17, who had given birth to children (as a result of abuse and sexual assault). They lacked a home to raise their children and, based on their tragic experiences, faced the difficult task of motherhood without any family support. Victims of abuse, abandonment, and physical and psychological mistreatment, they were deprived of their childhood and the aspirations of any other teenager their age.

This situation aroused our concern, and as religious sisters, led us to take an interest in the problem and realize its magnitude, as we discovered that the known cases were only a small sample of a reality that was exacerbated by the widespread nature of the practice. In this spirit, our Congregation of Dominican Sisters “Saint Rose of Lima” established and opened the “Juana de Aza” Home for Teenage Mothers, with the aim of providing protection, support, and prevention services to pregnant teenagers facing hardship and early pregnancy.

At our home, they are provided with housing, food, medical, social, religious, and psychological support, as well as education and technical training.