The Story of the New Vision

The development of a new and fresh vision for Mercy International Association is grounded in the founding vision of the Association. Mercy International Association (MIA) was founded in 1992 to serve the Sisters of Mercy, their associates and colleagues in ministry. It is an organisation of the Leaders of Mercy Congregations, Institutes and Federations throughout the world.

The Association was established "To stimulate and inspire Sisters of Mercy, their associates and colleagues in ministry, to continue the work of Catherine McAuley, Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, in ways which are both creative and appropriate to the needs of the world for the time being" and "to respond to the cry of the poor" (Memorandum of Association of Mercy International Association).

In 2005, because of changing realities in member congregations and in the world, MIA recognised the need to refocus its vision. They conducted a Visioning Exercise in Dublin in May 2006 with Mercy leadership teams and leaders of current MIA Projects to discern a way forward for the Association. From this discernment an emerging vision was articulated and a Working Party established to find a structure that would carry the vision into the future. The Mercy International Association Board built on the outcomes of the Working Party to develop the material presented here.

Structure to Serve the Vision

In order to support the vision with an appropriate organisational framework, the structure in the diagram below has been developed. The Board of Directors appointed a Director of the re-visioned Mercy International Centre. The Director works with a Management Team of four people. Focusing on Mission, Communication, Administration and Resource Development their role is to manage the Centre in a way that tells, lives and supports the Mercy International Association vision.