Day Two of MIA's Young Mercy Leaders Pilgrimage concludes with an Irish céilí

Our Young Mercy Leaders Pilgrimage continued in Baggot Street today, Wednesday 2nd July 2025. Today's theme was on Justice and Mercy Justice Advocacy.

We had Morning Prayer in our chapel led by Sr Angela Reed rsm, Head of Mercy Global Action. In her prayer Sr Angela referenced Saint Oscar Romero's life and ministry and how it reminds us of the call to be voices for the voiceless and to stand firm in the face of injustice. His message of peace, justice, and social solidarity continues to inspire individuals and communities around the world to work towards a more compassionate and equitable society .

We moved to the International Room where our young pilgrims and chaperones had a session on 'Living Mercy and Justice Today' facilitated by Sr Sheila Curran rsm. Sheila spoke about her life and ministry growing up in Donegal and living in Belfast during the Troubles. She spoke fondly of her time in Latin America saying: "If you go to Latin America, the people there will steal your heart and never give it back".

Sr Sheila went on to remind the young people that scripture tells us that 'mercy is new every morning'. She also said to the young pilgrims that their way of being Mercy as a new generation will be different to Catherine McAuley's and different to generations that came before.

There was lively discussion and feedback from the pilgrims.

Our morning session concluded with Srs Margaret Daly and Patricia O'Donovan on 'Living Mercy Today in our schools and local areas'.

There was time for lunch then in Mercy International Centre where the pilgrims experienced the famous Baggot Street Mercy Hospitality.

The afternoon session was led by Sr Angela Reed rsm. Sr Angela took the opportunity to introduce the Mercy Water Justice Coalition and to highlight the core values of Mercy Justice Advocacy. There was engaged discussion in response to some videos around Water, Displacement of Persons and how the Mercy World is responding to these.

After some afternoon refreshments in our dining room the pilgrims took time out for some creative work on the theme of justice. They were then facilitated in a mindfulness and reflection session led by Sr Anna Maria O'Carroll rsm and Niamh Mulligan.

Day Two concluded with the arrival of our food truck for some very hungry pilgrims and our traditional Irish ceilí. We were treated to some traditional dance from the students from Belize, a little bit of Line Dancing from the USA, some dance moves learned at the Gaeltacht and the most extraordinary solo perfomance of On My Own from Les Miserable and La Vie en Rose. The winners of the Irish Dancing Competition were a group from Gwynnd in the US.

The pilgrims took the opportunity to say farewell to Srs Patricia O'Donovan and Margaret Daly who have moved on from Mercy International Association to take on leadership roles in the Mercy Congregation. They also took time to acknowledge the staff of MIC, especially Avril and her team and our co MCs for the night - Thomas and Brenda.

Day Three sees us facilitated by Sr Terry Saetta rsm from the USA and Sr Margaret Daly rsm and the Walking Tour of Catherine's Dublin.