Introduction to Mercy Foundresses

In this section of the website, Mercy International Association honours stories of courageous and skilled Mercy women of faith who took the Sisters of Mercy to communities across Ireland and to countries, including the United Kingdom, Newfoundland, the United States of America, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and South Africa, in the space of a few decades in the nineteenth century. Expansion continued, although at a slower pace, until the most recent foundation, that of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of the Philippines (from Cork, Ireland), in 1954. Most foundations were made by a small band of women, and in most cases, these pioneers were joined by others drawn to the Mercy charism. The works of mercy (corporal and spiritual) begun by these foundresses and their followers would take the message of God’s Mercy into numerous ministries in the fields of education, health, geriatric care and social services. 2024 marks 200 years since Catherine started the building of the first House of Mercy on Baggot Street in Dublin, Ireland.

The Role of Lay Men and Women

Catherine commenced her works of mercy when she and her early associates were lay women rather than Religious Sisters of Mercy.  Lay men and women are often associated with the early foundations. Today, many Mercy Ministries in the tradition of Catherine are led by lay men and women. We hope this section of the website will assist you to trace some of the significant foundresses and their inspiring stories.

The Definition of Foundation

In this section, the word “Foundation” refers to “an autonomous (governmentally independent) foundation of the Sisters of Mercy.  There were other “houses” established, which were branch houses affiliated with one of the foundation houses. It is also in keeping with Mercy tradition that there is sometimes more than one person named as a leader, rather than the leader of a foundation. Catherine herself wrote “It began with two” in describing the beginnings of the Sisters of Mercy, thereby acknowledging the importance she placed on the contribution of Mary Ann Doyle. Mary Ann would go on to become a significant foundress in her own right, as recounted in the following pages.

Finding Information in these Pages

We recommend you move from this page to our Search All Foundresses page, where you can search by country, city, date, and name of foundress. From here, we will guide you to relevant information about the foundation or foundress you are interested in. Whenever feasible, we include links to relevant ministries.