The Fundação Beneficente Lucas Araújo is an institution that has been welcoming and protecting socially vulnerable children and elderly people in Passo Fundo for almost a century. The Entity was born from a gesture of generosity by Tenente Coronel Lucas José de Araújo, who in 1915, donated part of his land to create an “asylum for orphaned and destitute children” in the municipality. A few years later, a group of ladies called “Damas de Caridade” accepted the challenge and founded the asylum, whose statutes were approved in 1928. In 1934, the Irmãs Franciscanas Missionárias de Maria Auxiliadora joined the work, and since 1971, they have dedicated to the elderly at ILPI São José.

The work began in a simple house on Rua Morom, and later occupied a pavilion on Rua Uruguai, provided by Hospital São Vicente de Paulo. In 1929, the children moved to a building on Rua Teixeira Soares, and in 1944, to the current headquarters at Avenida Presidente Vargas, 317. In 1950, a pavilion for elderly care was opened. In 1955, the Diocese de Passo Fundo (today, Archdiocese) took over the administration of the Institution, which in 1957 became known as Fundação Beneficente Lucas Araújo.

The Foundation also maintained the Educação Infantil João Busato e Menino Deus, Childhood Education schools, which until 2018, served children aged 6 months to 5 years and 11 months on a full-time basis. The schools offered activities for coexistence, strengthening bonds, development and sociability of children, in addition to supporting families in their needs and demands.

Today, the Foundation houses the Lar da Menina Pe. Paulo Farina and the Long-Term Institution for the Elderly São José, which serve children, adolescents and the elderly. The Foundation relies on the work of qualified employees who donate their time and talent to the cause, also counting on important help from the community.