Portland Sisters Support New McAuley Residence in Northern Maine

“Hurra for foundations, makes the old young and the young merry”
—Catherine McAuley

In a spirit of thanksgiving, the sisters who reside at St. Catherine’s Residence in Portland, Maine, embraced Catherine’s words about the joy of new foundations when they learned of a new McAuley Residence in Bangor, two hours by car to the north. The home is be able to accommodate 10 women in recovery from addiction, along with their children. It is already at capacity and currently has five infants who under four months of age—and one on the way!

The residence’s goal, with the support of Northern Light Mercy Hospital, is to provide a holistic structured program to empower each woman to successfully grapple with her addiction and learn how to navigate life’s challenges to become the person she was created to be by God. The program teaches skills needed to assure each woman’s ability to deal with trauma, offering counseling, money management, parenting classes and nutrition classes. It also helps women to work with various agencies to become reunited with their children.

The sisters pitched in and put together an enormous gift bag for each woman. The bags included diapers, wipes, Kleenex and toilet paper, as well as shampoo, sprays, soaps and body powder. It is the hope of the sisters that each woman will feel the support of the daughters of Catherine McAuley as they continue their difficult journey, not only for their own sake but that of their children. The sisters felt immense pride in assisting the new McAuley Residence, as it is located in the “Queen City of the North,” which was the site of the first foundation in Maine established by Mother Frances Warde.

—Patricia Mooney rsm

Messages to: Catherine (Cathy) Walsh-Communications Specialist, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Northeast