The Parish of the Good Shepherd is one of the five parishes that make up the Sant Andreu Pastoral Community. This, in turn, forms part of the East Barcelona Deanery, together with six other pastoral communities. The deanery comprises 32 parishes serving the areas of Nou Barris, Trinitat, Torre Baró–Vallbona, Sant Andreu, Bon Pastor, La Sagrera, Sant Martí de Provençals, Clot, Verneda and Poblenou.

Following its foundation in 1935, the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) brought the parish’s pastoral activity to an abrupt halt. The church was set on fire and destroyed in July 1936, resulting in an interruption of almost three years in the parish’s religious presence. At that time, the area consisted mainly of the Milans del Bosch Housing Estate surrounding the former parish church, together with a number of factories, including Can Sala.

At the end of the Civil War, in 1939, Fr Joan Cortinas Guinart, a native of Santa Coloma de Gramenet—the municipality to which the housing estate then belonged—was appointed parish priest. The estate consisted of modest, single-storey dwellings inhabited largely by migrants from other parts of Spain, particularly Andalusia, Murcia, Galicia and Extremadura.

Fr Joan Cortinas’s enterprising spirit, together with his commitment to social action and dynamic pastoral leadership, enabled him to establish strong relationships with influential figures in the city of Barcelona. Charitable campaigns in support of local residents became increasingly common and provided many inhabitants of the Milans del Bosch Housing Estate and the nearby Estadella neighbourhood with opportunities for social and professional advancement. At that time, Estadella was centred around a stream that flowed into the River Besòs, passing alongside the dyeing and textile-finishing factory owned by Enric Sanchis. Through his support, the Archdiocese of Barcelona was gradually able to acquire the land on which the parish church, the presbytery (CEL) and the Good Shepherd Parish School now stand.

The development of the Bon Pastor neighbourhood was driven by two principal factors. Firstly, a significant proportion of residents demonstrated a strong commitment to improving their living conditions and quality of life, with many of these efforts being led through the parish. Secondly, progressive social initiatives encouraged the establishment of cooperatives and the development of a strong network of community organisations. This civic fabric remains active today and helps ensure that Bon Pastor is a neighbourhood with a future rather than merely a past.

The parish has played a central role in the development and wellbeing of the local community, which today numbers around 15,000 residents. Owing to the continuous arrival of migrants, more than a dozen different religious traditions are now represented within the neighbourhood. During the 1940s to the 1970s, migration came predominantly from other regions of Spain. From the 1980s onwards, however, Bon Pastor welcomed new residents from Latin America, Africa, the Far East and Eastern Europe. This ethnic and cultural diversity offers Bon Pastor an important opportunity to develop social initiatives that promote integration within an increasingly multilingual and multicultural society.

Like all the other deaneries within our Archdiocese, our mission is to bear witness to the Gospel in our neighbourhoods, to gather the Catholic faithful in faith and in the celebration of the sacraments, and to support, accompany and encourage the building of peaceful coexistence through dialogue with local community organisations. In doing so, we seek to serve as a living witness to Faith, Hope and Charity.