The Sisters of Mercy
1437 Blossom Road
Rochester, NY 14610
585-288-2710
Our
website is currently experiencing technical difficulties, so we have
lost some features such as the navigation buttons. We will have a new
website when we make the transition from Sisters
of Mercy,
Who we are
We are a community of 167 vowed women religious who work together with Mercy Associates and co-ministers to spread the charism of our foundress Catherine McAuley. The Regional Community of Rochester was founded on June 9, 1857 by Mother Frances Warde.
In 1991, regional communities throughout the United States joined together to form the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Today, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas minister in 12 countries which include: Argentina, Belize, Chile, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, the Philippines and the United States.
Catherine
McAuley,
Founder of the Sisters of Mercy
Catherine McAuley was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1778. Her father died when she was five years old. After her mother died in 1798, she lived with relatives until she moved in with the Callaghans, an elderly couple whom she cared for until their deaths. With the inheritance she received from them, she founded the House of Mercy on Baggot Street, Dublin in 1827. Her desire was to provide shelter for homeless women, educate poor children and visit the sick poor in their homes and in hospitals. Compassion for people, a sense of warm hospitality and dependence on the mercy of God inspired all her actions. A woman of strong convictions, Catherine McAuley was a gracious person and possessed a wonderful sense of humor.
Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831 to continue works of mercy she had begun. She died ten years later, in November 1841. Today, Sisters of Mercy, with their associates and co-ministers work throughout the world wherever need calls and where they may be of service to the poor, sick and uneducated.