Letter of Greetings Sent to Pope Francis for Mercy Day from Our World Mercy Leaders

The Members of Mercy International Association have written to Pope Francis sending greetings ''of peace, joy and well-being on this feast of Our Lady of Mercy.'

24th September 2015

His Holiness, Pope Francis
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City

Dear Pope Francis,

Sisters of Mercy worldwide bring you greetings of peace, joy and well-being on this feast of Our Lady of Mercy. As seventy-five hundred women religious living in forty-four countries across Earth, we are encouraged and challenged by your consistent emphasis on mercy. Our founder, Catherine McAuley, opened our first House of Mercy in 1827 to address the pressing needs of women and children in Dublin, Ireland. For almost 190 years, as Sisters of Mercy, we have committed ourselves to raise up this critical virtue of Jesus: mercy. Your presence and leadership, Pope Francis, have stirred our hearts and renewed our commitment to walk in mercy on Earth, among people and in our Church.

Our many congregations and institutes, while maintaining our original canonical independence, have formed a federation known as the Mercy International Association (MIA) to support each other, challenge each other and share our  rich mercy resources to help make our world more just, more peaceful and more interconnected...

Download a copy of the letter in English and in Spanish (5pps; PDF)

Messages to:
Berneice Loch rsm - President
Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director

Image: Mandalas representing the Member and Associate Member congregations and institutes prepared for the 1994 dedication of Mercy International Centre. The mandalas are on permanent display in the International Room at Baggot Street and images of the mandalas are still used on the Mercyworld.org website and in Mercy eNews to represent the Mercy congregations and institutes, a symbolic reminder of our coming together as Mercy International Association in 1992.