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The Other Side of Rio de Janeiro

Conventual Franciscan friars from the Immaculate Conception Province in Brazil

Sometimes at night gun shots break the silence of the humid Rio de Janeiro night. One wonders in fear if lives have come to a sudden end. This is not the Rio de Janeiro from colorful brochures. Here there are no tourists meandering along the avenues of Copacabana, heading to the beach for an ocean swim. This is not the romantic Ipanema North Americans know from musical lore.

Behind the tropical glamour of beautiful beaches and people and the intense parties at Carnival time, many Rio de Janeiro residents struggle to survive from day to day in the city's favelas. Favelas are violent neighborhoods where drug dealers thrive, disease is often rampant and prospects of a better future are slim. Here one does not see grand palaces and the middle class scurrying to work, but small decaying buildings and hope fading fast.

Life in a Rio de Janeiro favela

Hope is an intrinsic part of the Catholic faith. The Conventual Franciscan friars are always deeply hopeful that through prayer and hard work they can help bring about positive change in communities where they serve. And the communities where the Conventual Franciscan friars choose to serve are ones where the needs of the people are great; clearly, such communities are ubiquitous in Rio de Janeiro. The Conventual Franciscan friary in Rio de Janeiro is located on the Rua Caetano Martins in the troubled neighborhood of Rio Comprido. Named after St. Francis of Assisi during its foundation in 1949, the facility also serves as a formation house for men pursuing their Conventual Franciscan vocation. During their time at the formation house, the men immerse themselves in theology to truly understand what God is asking of them. The friars from the St. Francis friary catechize to the community, helping however they can, and keeping the fires of hope stoked in every person that they encounter.