The paper from the Mercy Research Conference The History and Experience of Latinos/Hispanics in the United States by Ana Maria Pineda, rsm offers yet another context in which to explore the challenge of responding to the displacement of peoples, which is a particular focus of the MIA vision. In this paper, Ana Maria addresses selected issues affecting the quality of life of Hispanics in the United States, among which education, health care, housing and appropriate social services are paramount. She writes: The realities lived by many Hispanics in the United States call for our consideration as Sisters of Mercy. The constant migration of Latinos from south and north of the U.S. border makes this a local and global reality for Sisters of our foundress who were called to bring Mercy to a world in need. We share the history and heritage of Catherine McAuley whose dedication to the poor and especially women and children was the motivating force in her religious vocation. Can the same motivating force inspire us to accept a new call and challenge? Together we search for ways of being Mercy in the Twenty-first Century. 

You are invited to:
• Read and reflect on the paper personally
• Draw the attention of others to it or circulate a hard copy
• Form a group which will study this paper and engage with challenges posed in the paper

Messages to Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director

This week, the Soup and Substance: Let’s Live Lent programme will focus on the topic of 'Accepting Differences'.  The countries featured on Mercy and Justice Shall Meet DVD for this topic are Guyana and Ireland.  In coordination with this, the country featured in this week’s series on Where Sisters of Mercy Minister is Guyana.

Sisters of Mercy have ministered in Guyana for nearly 116 years as the first Sisters of Mercy Ursula Green and Antonia Chambers arrived from Sussex, England, on April 23, 1894, and were joined by a young Guianese woman, Pauline DeFreitas.  The early ministry was in education and visitation of the poor and sick in Charlestown, and the first Mercy school in Guyana (then British Guiana), St. Joseph’s High School, was opened in 1897.

Messages to Mary Kay Dobrovolny rsm - Associate Director Heritage & Spirituality

Editor: St Joseph Mercy Guyana is this week's featured Mercy website

This week’s theme for the Soup and Substance: Let’s Live Lent programme is 'Accepting Differences'.  This is the seventh section on the Mercy and Justice Shall Meet CD-Rom, and it features anti-racism endeavors in Guyana and ministry during and after The Troubles in Northern Ireland.  

The process for the Soup and Substance programme is the same as that outlined in the feature article for 15 February 2010 Mercy World E-News.   Everything needed to discuss the story, socio-economic context and Mercy response, and inspiration from scripture and Mercy tradition is provided on Mercy and Justice Shall Meet.

Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

The list of all the published books and articles written by or about the Sisters of Mercy throughout the world since the founding of the congregation in 1831 through 2005, is currently available on the mercyworld.org website as a pdf in A4 and Letter format.

The redeveloped mercyworld.org website will have a searchable database of these published works.

Authors are invited to provide an image of the cover of their publication to illustrate their entry in the database. The image should be supplied as a jpeg or tif in an uncompressed format.

Messages to Communications

Editor: Authors of published works are reminded that  MIA will be updating this bibliography with the resources provided to us.  If you know of recently published works or works that were not included in this bibliography, we ask that you provide us with that information even if you are not able to provide a complimentary copy of the work itself.  We would like as complete a bibliography as possible (Mercy E-News, 7th February 2010).

Bibliographic information can be e-mailed to: heritage@mercyinternational.ie.

Prayers through the intercession of Venerable Catherine McAuley are asked for: Catelynn Dobrovolny and all those whose names are on the MIA Prayer list.

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

Coirle McCarthy rsm, Leader of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, recently visited Mercy College, Sligo.  A fundraiser organised by staff on St. Brigid's Day raised 4,017 euro and a cheque was presented to Sr. Coirle.  She congratulated all involved in the fundraising and informed all that the money would go directly to Karen Schneider rsm who is working as a Paediatrician in Haiti.  Mercy College, Coolock, Dublin organised a 'Sing Out' for Haiti which raised 2,700 euro. All funds raised will go directly to an orphanage run by 'Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs'. 

Messages to John Woods, CEIST

Maureen Lohrey rsm, who spent 15 years from the late 1980s until early 2000s working with refugees in Asia and Africa, recently returned from a two-month placement on Christmas Island.

Working with Jesuit Refugee Service and supported by the Federal Government’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Maureen’s role was to be a pastoral presence among the 1,800 asylum-seekers living at the island’s two detention centres...

She 'loved being there' and was sorry she couldn’t stay longer than two months. But she also found the work for one person draining and the humidity intense. ' knew, at aged 76, that I couldn’t do much more,' she explains. 'If you had a team it would be so much easier.'

Melbourne Sister of Mercy, Lizzie Finnerty arrived on Christmas Island in mid-February and will remain there until March 17, after which, Perth Sister of Mercy, Joan Kelleher will begin pastoral work in a full-time capacity.

Messages to Maureen Lohrey rsm

6 March 1996- Opening of Mercy Family Care Centre, Waterloo, Sydney

7 March 1857 - Foundation to Melbourne, Victoria from Perth, Western Australia - M Ursula Frayne

The Academy of Mary Immaculate Girls' School at 88 Nicholson Street, Fitzrory, Victoria, Australia established in 1857 just two years after the introduction of responsible government in Victoria, is an important landmark of inner suburban Melbourne.

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital is a non-profit organization providing a 24-hour health care service, seven days a week to the people of Guyana.

What happens if you want to print multiple copies of select pages? The secret lies in the Page range section of Word's Print dialog...