 The Sisters of Mercy were founded by Catherine Elizabeth McAuley.
Catherine, an Irish Catholic lay woman, received a substantial inheritance and used the funds to benefit the poor, especially women. On September 24, 1827, she founded the first House of Mercy located on Lower Baggot Street in Dublin. Inspired by her example, other young women joined her in her efforts to bring justice to the have-nots of society. It was Catherine�s intention to form a core of lay social workers to meet the increasing needs of the economically disadvantaged. The Archbishop of Dublin suggested she establish a religious congregation. On December 12, 1831, she and two other young women took vows and became the core group of the Sisters of Mercy.
The Sisters of Mercy quickly spread throughout the globe establishing convents in the Americas, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and the Philippines. In each of these areas they continued Catherine�s mission serving the economically disadvantage and doing the work of mercy and justice. In 1843, the Sisters of Mercy came to the United States at the request of the Bishop of Pittsburg. By 1854 they had settled in New York and San Francisco, establishing schools and hospitals.
In 1929, 39 of the 60 independent motherhouses in the United States reconfigured into six provinces forming the Sisters of Mercy Union with a membership of 5,000 sisters. In the 1960�s the Sisters of Mercy responded to the diverse needs of a changing society and started to expand their services to include housing and social services. In the 1990�s the Sisters of Mercy dissolved the Union and formed the
Institute of the Sisters of Mercy encompassing communities in North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, Guam, and the Philippines to better serve the needs of the poor and fulfill the mission of Mercy. Responding to current needs, there is a consolidation process underway to create six large geographic communities to enhance the spread of Catherine�s vision to do the work of justice by fully living the spiritual and corporal works of Mercy.
| The Spiritual Works of Mercy |
The Corporal Works of Mercy |
| Instruct the ignorant |
Feed the Hungry |
| Counsel the doubtful |
Give drink to the thirsty |
| Admonish the sinner |
Clothe the naked |
| Bear wrongs patiently |
Welcome the stranger |
| Forgive offenses willingly |
Visit the sick |
| Comfort the afflicted |
Visit the imprisoned |
| Pray for the living and the dead |
Bury the dead |
The Sisters of Mercy sponsor sixty schools in over twenty states in the United States, one territory, and six countries which are part of the Mercy Educational Network.
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