Associates of the Sisters of Mercy - catholic lay organisation

THE VENERABLE CATHERINE McAULEY

How it all began Artiste's impression of Catherine McAuley

Catherine McAuley was born in Dublin in 1778. Her father was a fervent Catholic with an outstanding love for the poor. He provided well for his family and did what he could to help those less well off. He died when Catherine was six years old. Her mother Elinor was not a good manager and the family declined into poverty. When Elinor died, Catherine found herself in the care of non-Catholics. But, although they tried to stifle her faith, she remained steadfast and in her loneliness she turned to God in prayer which deepened as the years went by.

From her father, she inherited a deep love for the poor and from her mother, a kind and gracious manner. With these characteristics together with her faith and trust in God, she was well fitted for what lay ahead.

In 1820 she inherited a considerable fortune from her adopted parents and with this she built a house on the corner of Baggot Street where she and her helpers lived and where she was able to care for the destitute girls in Dublin. She opened a little school for the younger children and trained the older ones to fit them for employment. At the same time, she visited the sick in their homes and in hospital to bring them both spiritual and material help to ease their sufferings.
The house became known as the House of Mercy and Catherine and her companions as Ladies of Mercy

It was never Catherine's intention to form a religious order. But as the work developed it was evident that that was precisely what was happening. And so at the behest of the Archbishop of Dublin, Catherine and two companions went for a year's training as a religious in the nearby Presentation Convent. On December 12th. 1831, they were professed as the first Sisters of Mercy.

From then on, the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy spread rapidly in Ireland, England, America and Australia to become one of the largest congregations of women in the church. In Dublin the sisters became known as walking nuns because they were seen about the streets visiting the sick at home and in hospital and engaging in their works of mercy.
Today the Sisters are to be found in many parts of the Third World in education and nursing. At home, they work in parishes, schools and hospitals bringing the mercy of God to those whom they serve by alleviating suffering wherever they find it.

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