Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Sisters of Mercy (R.S.M.) are members of a religious institute of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. As of 2003[update], the institute has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations.
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[edit] Vows and activities
Sisters of Mercy are an international community of Roman Catholic women religious vowed to serve people who suffer from poverty, sickness and lack of education with a special concern for women and children. Members take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the evangelical counsels commonly vowed in religious life, and, in addition, vows of service. They continue to participate in the life of the surrounding community. In keeping with their mission of serving the poor and needy, many sisters engage in teaching, medical care, and community programs. The organization is active in lobbying and politics.
[edit] History
The religious institute began when McAuley used an inherited fortune to build a "House of Mercy" in Dublin that provided educational, religious, and social services for poor women and children. The House aroused local opposition, however, it being traditional for nuns rather than lay women to engage in this sort of activity. Eventually the church hierarchy agreed to the formation of a non-cloistered institute, and the sisters became known informally as the "walking nuns" for their ability to care for the poor outside a convent. The house still sits today, as the Mercy International Centre.
In the year of 1992, the leaders of the various congregations created the Mercy International Association to foster collaboration and cooperation. The purpose of the Association is to provide support and foster collaboration, organisation and inspiration for the ministries of Sisters of Mercy and their associates.[1]
On 12 December 2011, the 15 independent congregations in Australia and Papua New Guinea of the Sisters of Mercy combined to form a single congregation numbering circa 900 sisters.[2]
[edit] Constitution
The Sisters of Mercy are constituted as religious and charitable organizations in a number of countries. Mercy International Association is a registered charity in the Republic of Ireland.[3] In the United Kingdom, The Union of the Sisters of Mercy of Great Britain is a registered charity, and in 2006–7 had a gross income of £5.5million.[4]
[edit] Controversies
The institute was condemned in an Irish government report on May 20, 2009 entitled the Ryan Report of "The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse." The Sisters of Mercy were named as the chief among the institutes under whose care girls "endured frequent assaults and humiliation designed to make them feel worthless ... personal and family denigration was widespread".[5]
[edit] Schools founded or run by Sisters of Mercy
[edit] Australia
- Padua College, Mornington,Victoria
- Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, Parramatta, New South Wales
- St Monica's North Parramatta, Parramatta, New South Wales
- Academy of Mary Immaculate, Fitzroy, Victoria
- St Columba's School, Ballarat, Victoria
- All Hallows' School, Brisbane, Queensland
- Aranmore Catholic College, Leederville, Western Australia
- Bunbury Catholic College, Bunbury, Western Australia
- Marian Catholic College, Griffith, New South Wales
- Marist College Eastwood, Eastwood, New South Wales
- Star of the Sea school Adelaide South Australia
- Mercedes College, Adelaide, South Australia
- Mercedes College, Perth, Western Australia
- Mercy Catholic College, Sydney, New South Wales
- Mercy College, Koondoola, Western Australia
- Mercy College, Mackay, Queensland
- Mercyhurst College, Erie, Pennsylvania
- Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College, North Sydney, New South Wales
- Mount Lilydale Mercy College, Lilydale, Victoria
- Our Lady of Lourdes, Dardunup, Western Australia
- Our Lady of Mercy College, Heidelberg, Victoria
- St Aloysius' College, Melbourne, Victoria
- St Brigid's College, Lesmurdie, Western Australia
- St Catherine's Catholic College, Singleton, New South Wales
- St Mary's College[disambiguation needed
], Gunnedah, New South Wales - St Mary's Erskineville, Sydney, New South Wales[1]
- Sacred Heart College, Kyneton, Victoria
- Santa Maria College, Attadale, Western Australia
- Ursula Frayne Catholic College, Victoria Park, Western Australia
- [2]Our Lady of Lourdes,Earlwood,Sydney,NSW Australia
- [3] St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, Mossman, Queensland
[edit] Belize
[edit] Ireland
- Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
- Mercy Secondary School, Mounthawk, Tralee, Ireland
- Our Lady of Mercy College, Carysfort, Dublin
- St Leo's College, Carlow
- St Mary's College, Arklow, Wicklow
- St Mary's College Naas, Kildare
- Convent of Mercy, Ballymahon, Longford
- Convent of Mercy, Navan, Meath
- Convent of Mercy, Templemore, North Tipperary
- Mount Mercy College, Cork City, Cork
- Sancta Maria College, Ballyroan, Dublin
[edit] Jamaica
[edit] New Zealand
- Carmel College, Milford, New Zealand
- Holy Cross School, Auckland
- Moreau College, Dunedin
- McAuley High School, Otahuhu, Auckland
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School, Epsom, Auckland
- Sacred Heart Cathedral School, Thorndon, Wellington
- St Catherine's College, Wellington
- St Josephs School, Takapuna, Auckland
- St Mary's College, Auckland
- St Mary's College, Christchurch
- St Mary's College, Wellington
- St Mary's School, Avondale, Auckland.
- St Mary's in the City Primary School, Christchurch
- St Mary's Primary School, Gore
- St Philomena's College, Dunedin
- Villa Maria College, Christchurch
[edit] United Kingdom
- Broughton Hall High School, Liverpool
- Maricourt Catholic High School, Maghull
- Mount Lourdes Grammar School, Enniskillen
- Our Lady's Grammar School, Newry
- Our Lady's Abingdon, Abingdon-on-Thames
- St Edward's, Lisson Grove, Marylebone, London
- St Joseph's In The Park, Hertingfordbury Park, Hertford
- The McAuley Catholic High School, Doncaster
- St. Anthony's Girls School, Sunderland
- St. Catherine's School, Twickenham
- St. Philip Howard Catholic Primary School, Hatfield
- St. Joseph's Convent Preparatory School, Gravesend
- St Ursula's School, Bristol
- Thornhill College Grammar School, Derry
- St. Patrick's School,[6] Wolverhampton
- St. Joseph's Convent School, Wanstead, East London
- St Joseph's Park Hill School, Burnley
[edit] United States of America
[edit] Secondary schools
- Academy of Our Lady of Mercy:Lauralton Hall, Milford, Connecticut
- Assumption High School, Louisville, Kentucky
- Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, Massachusetts
- Catherine McAuley High School, Brooklyn, New York
- Catherine McAuley High School, Portland, Maine
- McAuley Catholic High School, Joplin, Missouri
- Mercy Academy, Louisville, Kentucky
- Mercy High School, Farmington Hills, Michigan
- Mercy High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Mercy High School, Middletown, Connecticut
- Mercy High School, San Francisco, California
- Mercy High School, Burlingame, California
- Mercy Montessori Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Mercyhurst Preparatory School, Erie, Pennsylvania
- Mercymount Country Day School, Cumberland, Rhode Island
- Merion Mercy Academy, Merion Station, Pennsylvania
- Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, Chicago, Illinois
- Mount Mercy Academy, Buffalo, New York[7]
- Mount Saint Mary Academy, Little Rock, Arkansas
- Mount St. Mary High School, Oklahoma
- Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
- Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, New Jersey
- Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Syosset, New York
- Our Lady of Mercy High School, Rochester, New York
- Our Lady of Victory Academy, Dobbs Ferry, New York
- Sacred Heart School, Jacksonville, Florida
- Mount de Sales Academy, Macon, Georgia
- Saint Bernard Academy, Nashville, Tennessee
- St. Mary Academy - Bay View, East Providence, Rhode Island
- Saint Stephen School, San Francisco, California
- Saint Raymond of Penafort, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- St. Vincent's Academy, Savannah, Georgia
- Sisters Academy, Asbury Park, New Jersey[8]
[edit] Colleges and universities
- College of St. Mary, Omaha, Nebraska
- Carlow University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Georgian Court University, Lakewood, New Jersey
- Gwynedd-Mercy College, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania
- Marian Court College, Swampscott, Massachusetts
- Maria College, Albany, New York
- Mercy College of Northwest Ohio, Toledo, Ohio
- Mercy School of Health Sciences, Des Moines, Iowa
- Mercyhurst College, Erie, Pennsylvania
- Misericordia University, Dallas, Pennsylvania
- Mount Aloysius College, Cresson, Pennsylvania
- Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, Iowa*
- Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, Connecticut
- Saint Joseph's College of Maine, Standish, Maine
- Saint Xavier University, Chicago, Illinois
- Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island
- Trocaire College, Buffalo, New York
- University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, Michigan
- Walsingham Academy, Williamsburg, Virginia
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Mercy International Association
- ^ "Foundation Chapter and Eucharist heralds new era for Sisters of Mercy". institute.mercy.org.au/newscentre. Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia - News Centre. 2011-12-21. http://institute.mercy.org.au/newscentre/view_article.cfm?loadref=269&id=1100. Retrieved 2011-12-22.
- ^ Registered Charity no. CHY 10078.
- ^ The Union of the Sisters of Mercy of Great Britain, Registered Charity no. 288158 at the Charity Commission
- ^ 'Endemic' rape and abuse of Irish children in Catholic care, inquiry finds
- ^ Black Country History
- ^ http://www.mtmercy.org
- ^ http://www.sistersacademycampaign.com
[edit] External links
- Mercy International Association website
- Sisters of Mercy of the Americas website
- Mercy Foundation, Australia
- Mercy Home
"Sisters of Mercy". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.- The Union of the Sisters of Mercy of Great Britain, Registered Charity no. 288158 at the Charity Commission
- Institute of Our Lady of Mercy, Great Britain
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