Sisters of Mercy

By jessiejay

  • Founded in Australia

    Founded in Australia
    Our inspiration is drawn from Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland in 1831. Catherine recognized and responded to the needs of those who were marginalized and oppressed by the unjust social attitudes and practices of the day.

  • Bishop Quinn

    Bishop Quinn
    Ellen Whitty (Mother M Vincent) and her five companions arrived in Brisbane on the 10 May 1861 at the invitation of Bishop Quinn thus bringing the first Sisters of Mercy to Queensland and establishing what we know today as the Brisbane Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy.

  • Worldwide

    Worldwide
    In 2003, the institute has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations.

  • Abuse

    Abuse
    On May 20, 2009, the institute was condemned in an Irish government report known as the Ryan Report, the work 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".

  • Comeing to Australia

    Comeing to Australia
    On 12 December 2011, 14 of the 17 independent congregations in Australia and Papua New Guinea of the Sisters of Mercy combined to form a congregation numbering circa 900 sisters.