The General Chapter of 1950 already considered the possibility of creating a province in Brazil but it was not until the 7 of June of 1960 that the Prior General, Fr. Eugenio Ayape, declared completed the informative stage of preparation. With the permission of his council, he sought permission from the Holy See to erect a new province with the majority of the houses which St. Thomas Province had in Brazil. On June 9, 1960, the Holy See responded favorably and the Prior General established the province. The canonical installation of the province took place on June 29 in the residence of Ribeirao Preto which became the seat of the new province. At the same time, St. Rita was chosen as the patroness of the new province. The province was born with personnel, ministries and resources sufficient to expect a promising future. Some twenty days after the founding date the provincial could say that “we have received a patrimony which is seldom the case in other such divisions. In general, the religious are satisfied, content and ready to work.” The number of religious was 108 of which 59 were Brazilians. They were generally young. There were 23 ministries which included the provincial residence in Ribeirao Preto, a major seminary in Franca, a school for externs in Volta Redonda with 1000 students with two other schools in prospect the mission of Labrea in the Amazon district, and 15 parishes in the states of Sao Paulo and Espritu Santo. The vocation prospects were favorable. There was enthusiasm and willingness to work. Not long after, however, things began to come apart in the young province. The difficulty in providing for the mission of Labrea was an early sign of crisis. Secularism and individualism seemed to captivate the young religious. At the same time vocations became scarce and desertions increased. Within ten years, the province lost 34% of its membership and was reduced to 73 religious. The province was conscious of the situation. The superiors reported it regularly in chapters and annual reports. Ministries were given up and the drain of members continued. In 1979, the Prelacy of Marajo was turned over to the Province of St. Nicholas. By 1980, there were only 55 religious, half the number of members which the province had in the beginning. Houses closed were ten. The assistance provided by the other provinces did not solve the problem. Such help scarcely slowed down the province’s decline. At the insistence of the General Curia, the formation of the novices and professed was assumed by the Province of Our Lady of Candelaria for the period 2002 to 2006. In January of 2207, the professed returned to the former house of theology in Sao Paulo. For the first time, there was a notable change of direction. The all too frequent losses gave way to a new optimism. By the end of 2006, there were 58 religious and 10 novices distributed in 10 communities dedicated to the apostolate in 10 parishes and 3 seminaries. The pastoral work of the province throughout these years was always praiseworthy, praised by the faithful and the hierarchy. The religious of province, supported by the superiors, have uniformly tried to follow the pastoral directive of the Church in Brazil. The province still publishes Mensageiro de Santa Rita, a popular magazine founded in 1937. Year of foundation: 1960 Number of religious: 45 Number of communities: 11 Country: Brazil. Ministries: 15. Missions: None Seat of provincial Curia Provincial Santa Rita de Cássia Caixa Postal 120 (14001-970) Rua São José, 743. Centro 14010-160 Ribeirão Preto (SP) Tel. (016) 610-1169 Fax (016) 610-1325 curiaprovincial@santarita-oar.org.br