The school was born from the educational vision of a pious man, “Father Siqueira,” and a woman, “Mother Francisca Pia,” his niece, who wisely followed in his footsteps. Having been a co-founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Amparo, now a hundred years old, she dared to dream of a Amparo School in Rio de Janeiro. A friend and former benefactor of Amparo in Petrópolis, Maria Guilhermina Bernardes Raythe, helped make this dream come true. After a visit from Francisca Pia, she decided to leave her property on Rua Haddock Lobo in her will so that the Maria Raythe Domestic School, a branch of the Petrópolis school, could be founded there. Father Siqueira’s famous quote is: “To educate is to lead on the path of love.”
