The roots of the Sisters of Mercy reach back into Dublin, Ireland in the 1820s. That is when Catherine McAuley, a Catholic layperson, recognized the needs of the economically poor – especially women and children – and began her ministry to help them.

The Sacred Heart Chapel and original convent were built in the early 1900s and still stand today. They are the cornerstone of the South Central Community headquarters in Belmont, NC.

She used an inheritance to open the first House of Mercy on Lower Baggot Street in Dublin to shelter, feed and educate women and girls. Although her original intention was to gather Catholic laypeople to minister as social workers, she established a religious congregation at the suggestion of the Archbishop of Dublin who wanted to see her work continue after her death. In 1831, Catherine and two companions took their vows as the first Sisters of Mercy.

ACROSS THE GLOBE
Today, the Sisters of Mercy continue the mission of deepening their relationship with God and serving others, particularly those who are sick, economically poor and uneducated. There are now Institutes, Congregations and Federations of Sisters of Mercy in the Americas, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and the Philippines.

The first sisters arrived in America from Ireland in 1843 and spread across the country, establishing schools and hospitals and ministering to the sick and to those in need. In 1929, more than 5,000 sisters formed the Sisters of Mercy of the Union, which dissolved in 1991 to form the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE AMERICAS
Since 2005, 25 regional communities making up the Institute have transformed into six communities – including the South Central Community, which formed in September 2008. Made up of the former regional communities of Baltimore, Cincinnati/Jamaica, St. Louis, and North Carolina/Guam, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – South Central Community unites more than 700 sisters.

With its administrative offices in Belmont, North Carolina, the sisters of the South Central Community today continue the charism of Catherine McAuley through ministries in healthcare, housing, education, social services, and pastoral care.

The blessing of unity still dwells amongst us and oh what a blessing, it should make all else pass into nothing….This is the spirit of the Order, indeed the true spirit of Mercy flowing on us…
— Catherine McAuley, 1841