Our History
The Mercy Community history lies within the tradition of the Brisbane Sisters of Mercy, a group of Catholic women who as followers of Jesus, understand their mission as participating in God’s mission of mercy. Inspiration is drawn from Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland in 1831.
Mercy, the principal path pointed out by Jesus Christ to those who are desirous of following him, has in all ages of the Church excited the faithful in a particular manner to instruct and comfort the sick and dying poor as in them they regarded the person of our Divine Master.
Catherine McAuley (Original Rule, approved in Rome, 1841)
Living Mercy
The history of Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy.
1827
Catherine McAuley (b. 1778) established a ‘House of Mercy’ in Baggot Street, Dublin, Ireland. There, she and several companions provided food, clothing, housing and education for many of Dublin’s poor women and young girls.
1841
Catherine died a holy death on 11 November 1841. Within a few decades her congregation had spread worldwide. It is still one of the largest congregations of women religious in the Church.
Content and images sourced from © Mercy International Association 2005 www.mercyworld.org
Mercy in Australia
Mother Vincent Whitty, a pioneer Sister of Mercy from Dublin initiated into religious life by our foundress Catherine McAuley, came into Brisbane in 1861 with five young companions. The sisters immediately set out to provide education to the struggling community of Irish immigrants. All Hallows’ School was founded in 1861 and was the first secondary school for girls in the infant colony of Queensland. True to the spirit of our foundress , the sisters were soon engaged in community work such as visitation of the local jails ad of the poor in their homes. Within their first year of arriving, the sisters had rented cottages to care for children, who were unkempt and undernourished and had nowhere to stay.
Mother Vincent and her band of pioneering Sisters were not long established in Brisbane before they began establishing branch houses in the far-flung colony.
It is from these beginnings that Mercy Community finds itself deeply rooted in the community of Queensland. Mercy Community is committed to fulfilling its vision to build a world where people, families and communities are strong in spirit, healthy and connected.
