Mercy Secondary Colleges Celebrate the Sesquicentenary of the Sisters of Mercy North Sydney Congregation

On 4 June 2015 1700 students of Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College North Sydney and Mercy Catholic College Chatswood joined with the Sisters of Mercy North Sydney and community to celebrate the Sesquicentenary (150 years anniversary) of the Sisters of Mercy North Sydney.

Moving highlights (04.04)

This was an auspicious and historical event with more than 2000 members of the local community comingtogether to honour and pay their respects through prayer, to the foundress Mother Elizabeth Ignatius McQuoin and the Sisters of Mercy North Sydney past and present.

In 1865, Mother Elizabeth Ignatius McQuoin arrived in Sydney and began to plant the seeds of Mercy that would later transform the lives of so many - through healthcare, education, welfare and social justice.

Celebrating 150 Years (03.34)

Our Eucharistic celebration commemorated the Sisters of Mercy North Sydney being actively engaged in primary and secondary education throughout Sydney since 1865.

In 1873, Mother Elizabeth McQuoin moved to North Sydney and set up a boarding school. The small boarding school was not big enough to meet the needs of the local community so Elizabeth purchased a much larger house called MASALOU and the Sisters moved there and opened a school in 1875. The Convent was named Monte Sant’ Angelo and the MASALOU building stands at the heart of our College today, facing our circular drive.

In less than 30 years, Elizabeth built an extraordinary legacy; 55 in the community of Sisters; established convents and schools at St Patrick’s (in 1865), Monte (in 1875), Pymble and Waterloo (in 1883) and Erskineville (in 1887) and built the Mater Misericordiae Home for Girls (in 1891). Later St Catherine’s High School, known today as Mercy College Chatswood, went on to be established (1905).

Messages to:
Loreto Conroy rsm - Congregational Leader, Sisters of Mercy North Sydney Congregation
Deanne O'Shea - Director Development & Community Relations Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College