Atlanta Catholic Centennial

A few words regarding the founding and work of the Sisters of Mercy is not out of place in this article. The Sisters of Mercy was founded in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine Elizabeth McAuley in 1827. The first institution was opened on the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, September 24, 1827. It was at first a secular society of ladies who devoted several hours daily to charitable and educational work.

The ladies spent more and more of their time at these works. In 1828 the Archbishop permitted them to adopt a distinctive dress. The order formed rules and led a life that was more on the order of a religious than a secular organization. Finally, on the request of their intentions, made by the Archbishop, they unanimously voted to become religious. On December 12, 1931, Miss McAuley took her vows as a Sister of Mercy and became Sister Mary Catherine. Two other ladies, Miss Elizabeth Harley, and Miss Anna Maria Doyle, took their vows on the same day. These three ladies, after a novitiate in the order of Presentation Sisters, became the first Sisters of Mercy. Sister Mary Catherine was selected as the first Superior, an office which she held for the remainder of her life.

“It has been the spirit of their foundress, Mother Catherine McAuley, that has guided the labors of her daughters. She showed the tenderness of a mother for the afflicted, seeing Christ in all who came to her for aid. Since the foundation of the Order, more than one hundred years ago, these self-sacrificing women have been engaged in every phase of social service activities, works of mercy and of true Christian charity. Year by year, the work has grown and fructified. Today, there are ten thousand Sisters of Mercy in the United States, as well as large numbers working in Ireland, England, Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and the West Indies.”

“Not only in times of peace, but history attests to the fact that the spirit of the Order has risen to real heroism when suffering humanity --when Christ in His members -- has been visited by war, plagues, famines, floods and catastrophes of every kind. Latest reports from the Leper Colony in British Guiana give evidence of splendid work in the compounds there. Facing the difficulty, some years ago, of securing enough lay nurses for a work so repulsive to human nature, the English Government turned to the Trained Nurse in the Order of Mercy. The efficiency and skill in developing a Leprosarium which is a credit to present day science, is only equaled by the Sisters' kindness and tender care of these poor unfortunate victims.”