Sisters of Mercy of Great Britain Mercy Insitute, the Union of Great Britain and The Congregation were among the large group of attendees at the two day conference in West London on “The Future of Consecrated Life in the United Kingdom and Europe", held on 29 -30 May, organised by the Claretian Missionaries in consultation with CoR of England and Wales.

Reporting on the conference Camilla Hunt rsm wrote, "All speakers spoke of living in a time of crisis and examined aspects of crisis in our culture, society, church and faith and religious Life. However the tone was upbeat; crises are times of challenge, times of growth, and rebirth; times to ask the hard questions, time to make the difficult choices and face the truth with faith and hope and love..."

A short summary of the principle talks given by Timothy Radcliffe OP, Cristo Rey García, CMF, Josep Abella, CMF and Archbishop Joseph William Tobin CSsR as well as that by Gemma Simmonds CJ, from notes taken at the conference are linked to this item. The talks are expected to be published in book form in a month’s time and the availability of the publication will be advised in Mercy E-News.

Messages to Camilla Hunt rsm

Editor: Gemma Simmonds CJ is the editor of the recently published (2012) A Future Full of Hope?, based on a series of papers given at a colloquium in 2010 run by the Religious Life Institute (Heythrop College, University of London) addressing urgent questions surrounding the renewal and survival of religious life from a British, Irish, religious and lay perspective. Gemma introduces some of the sensitive but crucial questions with which she and her fellow contributors have engaged in a paper published here in Thinking Faith, the online journal of the British Jesuits which also provides access to a review of A Future Full of Hope? and an audio recording of Timothy Radcliffe OP at the launch of A Future Full of Hope? speaking on the relationship between religious life and the church at this moment (32'38").

“No one wants to become a refugee. No one should have to endure this humiliating and arduous ordeal. Yet, millions do. Even one refugee forced to flee, one refugee forced to return to danger is one too many.
-Ban Ki-moon

Each year on June 20th the United Nations and countless civic groups around the world celebrate World Refugee Day.

World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

There are over 43.7 million refugees and internally displaced people around the world and of those, UNHCR provides lifesaving assistance and protection to 33.9 million of them.

Access a synthesis of UNHCR’s flagship publication, The State of the World’s Refugees: In Search of Solidarity

Mercy and Justice Shall Meet, Story 6 'Displacement to Resettlement" is a valuable resource to use to mark this day.

Messages to:  Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

Prayers through the intercession of Venerable Catherine are requested for the intentions of all those on the MIA Prayer list: and in particular, those whose names are newly added: Ted Franks, Denise McGuigan, Patricia Burgess.

Messages to:
Anne Hannon rsm - Vice postulator Europe and Africa
Sheila Carney rsm - Vice postulator Americas
Mary Duffy rsm - Vice postulator Australia, New Zealand, Philippines

On June 8 Saint Joseph College Connecticut, founded by the Sisters of Mercy of Connecticut in 1932, became the University of Saint Joseph, celebrating its role as an innovative and comprehensive center of higher education...

“The University of Saint Joseph is on the move and more vital than ever,” said USJ President Pamela Trotman Reid, Ph.D. “Today we introduce a new name that reflects our growth as an institution of regional, national and international importance.”

Under President Reid’s leadership, the University of Saint Joseph has established five schools – Health & Natural Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, Pharmacy, and Graduate and Professional Studies – located on two campuses in West Hartford and Hartford. In addition, USJ is expanding its international outreach to include partnerships with educational institutions in China, Ghana and the Middle East.

Messages to: Ruth Foxman - Executive Assistant to the President/Secretary to the Board of Trustees

The sun shone on the opening ceremony of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress (IEC2012) at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) on Sunday, June 10 as it began with a vibrant colourful parade of  pilgrims from more than 120 countries and the four archdioceses of Ireland: Tuam, Dublin, Cashel & Emly, and Armagh, carrying county flags and symbols of faith along the parade route while the Congress choir sang.

Sisters of Mercy were actively involved in a variety of ways: as volunteers, ushers, singers in the choir, musicians, conductors among the crowd and members of the congregation..

The opening ceremony, described as "a colourful display of faith and culture' included a most powerful recreation of a scene from Tírechán's 7th century Life of St Patrick in the Book of Armagh (1:10:00 - 1:19:22).

As an acknowledgement of the past, a healing stone was unveiled during the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony (00:00:00 - 1:19: 22) and Mass (1:19:22 - 3:00:04) were broadcast to 120 million viewers and streamed live on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE) website and will remain available on the RTE website until 1 July. To access the coverage on RTE, click here.

The closing ceremony, Statio Orbis, in Croke Park on 17 June will also be broadcast live on RTE.

Messages to: Ailish O'Brien rsm - Communications Co-ordinator

Editor: Eucharist, a Call to Ecological Conversion is the title of the recently published article (30 May) on The Congregation's website. In this article Colette Cullinan rsm explores the parts of the Eucharist from the perspective of its ecological dimension.

"The time is right for us to adjust our way of life to the planet’s available resources, to free ourselves of our obsession to possess and consume, and to make personal efforts for the environment..."

The Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland have been busy in preparation for the Rio + 20 meetings. They were one of the Religious Congregations who influenced the Roman Catholic Leaders of Newfoundland and Labrador to produce a brochure giving information on the Rio Conference. That brochure addressing the following questions: What is RIO+20? What has RIO+20 got to do with us in our church? is linked to the article linked to this item.

Messages to: Sheila O'Dea rsm

The Children’s Grief Project was founded in 2009 as a result of a discerning process undertaken by the Sisters of Mercy (South Central Province) following their Chapter of 2007. In September 2009 they assigned Helen Culhane rsm to the task of developing the project.

The Mission of the Children’s Grief Project is defined as "to raise awareness and understanding in relation to the loss children feel following bereavement or separation.  The Children’s Grief Project provides grieving children and young people a place and space where they are given the opportunity to look at feelings associated with loss and learn that they are not alone."

Since its foundation, this ministry has seen 300 children, held 1,500 sessions and recently launched its new website.

The launch of the site provided an opportunity for clients, staff and volunteers to publicly share, through an article in the Limerick Leader on June 11, the importance of such a service, given the prevalence of grief and loss in today's society. To access the article, click here.

Messages to: Helen Culhane rsm

Editor: The Children’s Grief Project is this week's featured website.

Changing from a world where thick paper charts catalog a patient’s medical history to one where all that data is gathered electronically and made available across the health care continuum sounds like a no-brainer. But in reality, reversing hundreds of years of medical protocol is anything but easy. The commitment to implement this kind of massive change effectively is among the reasons Lynn Britton, Mercy Health System president and CEO, has been named one of three winners of the CEO IT Achievement Award, an annual honor co-sponsored by Modern Healthcare magazine and the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

Messages to: Nancy Corbett - Mercy Media Relations Director, Marketing and Communications

On May 21, 2012, praying in song and ritual, the Associates of Marystown welcomed four new members into their Circle of Mercy. Sister Elizabeth Marrie, on behalf of the Leadership of the Sisters of Mercy, received the commitment of Donalda Cheeke, Annette Deveau, Hanna Lambe and Elizabeth Whelan. The new Associates received their Associate pins, Certificates and Mercy Associate candles and were warmly embraced by their Associate friends and their facilitator, Sister Theresa March.

Messages to: Maureen O'Keefe rsm - Co-ordinator Mercy Associates

Editor: An overview of Associates in the Newfoundland Congregation, including the Associate Program and Commitment Ceremony can be accessed here.

The Australian Honours System recognises the outstanding achievements and community contributions made by individuals. Awards are announced twice a year, on Australia Day (26/01) and the Queen's Birthday public holiday in June.

This year Heather McClymont rsm was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the community through the Institute of Sisters of Mercy.

Citation: Director, Mercy Spirituality Centre, Mercy House of Retreat Toronto, Lake Macquarie, Institute of Sisters of Mercy, 1980-2012.
Established and administered ecumenical programs for Adult Formation, Retreats, Spiritual Direction and Renewals.
Member, Sisters of Mercy, since 1941; Provincial Councillor, 1975-1978.

Messages to: Heather McClymont rsm

The members of the Canonisation Committee of The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy - committed to making Catherine known and loved -  are delighted to report that they have had a constant stream of  visitors to their Venerable Catherine McAuley stand (stand no.141) at the Eucharistic Congress Exhibition Centre since the Congress commenced.

Members of the wider Mercy network,  including Sisters of Mercy, former students and family members, members of other religious orders, clergy and members of the general public are stopping by to talk, to take canonisation materials, to post petitions in the prayer box and to find out more about Catherine's Cause.

Many Sisters of Mercy are actively involved in the activities of the Congress. In the short video clip (3'19") linked to this item we meet members of the Canonisation Committee as well as other Sisters of Mercy who are involved at the Congress in various ways.

Messages to Ailish O'Brien rsm - Communications Co-ordinator

Editor: Regular readers of Mercy E-news (Issue 455) will recall the visit of Marilyn Lacey rsm to Melbourne in March to work with staff and students of Victorian and Western Australian Mercy schools in a "Mercy Formation week", aimed to strengthen appreciation and engagement with the spirit of Mercy and the contemporary expression of the Mercy charism through exposure to the work of Mercy Beyond Borders (MBB), a Mercy ministry which partners in projects with displaced women and girls in ways that alleviate their extreme poverty. This visit was an action resulting from the 2011 Dublin Youth Pilgrimage, an international education activity involving schools from the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK.

In the June issue of the MBB newsletter, Academy of Mary Immaculate, Fitzroy, Melbourne, was named the first Australian MBB Ambassador, ensuring that the connection will continue. In the same issue, concern was expressed for the safety of the South Sudanese people.

In the latest UN report online, more people are fleeing Sudan’s southern regions to escape fighting and severe food shortages, with an estimated 20,000 refugees amassed now on the South Sudan border after fleeing conflict and lack of food, while approximately 140,000 others are internally displaced.

Messages to:
Marilyn Lacey rsm - Mercy Beyond Borders
Mary Moloney rsm - Principal, Academy
 

The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas celebrated two professions of final vows recently:

On June 2, Sisters of Mercy gathered at College of Saint Mary’s Our Lady of Mercy Chapel in Omaha, Nebraska to celebrate Marie Angele rsm's profession of final vows as a Sister of Mercy. Read the report here.

Barbara McGahan rsm made her final vows as a Sister of Mercy on June 3 in Watchung, New Jersey at Immaculate Conception Chapel on the campus of Mount Saint Mary Academy, a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy. Read the report here.

Messages to Pat Kenny rsm - Institute Communications

Anne Curtis rsm, a member of Sisters of Mercy of the Americas’ leadership team, was profiled in an article about women religious in yesterday’s Washington Post.

The article is linked to this item.

Messages to Anne Curtis rsm

1840: Mary Bourke, postulant died, Galway
1859: Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier hands over 18 acres of his Ponsonby, Auckland property to the Sisters of Mercy to build St Mary's Convent.

Stories and paintings of 16 compassionate women including Catherine McAuley. The women, biblical and modern, reflect the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Purchase online from Veritas

We aim to help children to overcome the obstacles that keep them from living full lives. In addition, the Children’s Grief Project strives to educate the community that grieving is an important part of life and is essential to an individual’s on-going growth and development.

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The Mercy E-news archives can be accessed from the home page of the MIA website mercyworld.org (bottom left corner) and from the "News Centre" section.

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