Sisters of Mercy Form New Community

The New York, Pennsylvania, Pacific West Community, which begins on January 1, 2008, held their initial Assembly July 17-22 Below is the media release:

Buffalo, New York: July 25, 2007 — Sister Nancy Hoff, RSM of Buffalo has been elected president of the newly-formed Sisters of Mercy, New York, Pennsylvania, Pacific West Community. The new community, which begins January 1, 2008, unites Mercy sisters from Buffalo NY, Rochester NY, Erie PA, Pittsburgh PA and the Philippines.

Also elected at the Initial Assembly of the New York, Pennsylvania, Pacific West Community held July 17-22, 2007 at the Millennium Hotel in Buffalo were: councilors Sisters JoAnne Courneen of Erie, Geraldine Rosinski of Pittsburgh, Sister Patricia Prinzing of Rochester and Sister Guadalupe Lumantas of the Philippines. The nearly 300 sisters who attended the Assembly decided on a plan for governance, elected leadership, and introduced some new community-wide initiatives.

“We have new energy, new life, and we benefit from the sharing of the gifts we have among us,” said Sister Nancy. “Wonderful things are going to happen and we can do more together than we could have ever done separately.”

Under the new arrangement, Mercy Center in Buffalo will be the administrative offices for the new Community. Ministries in each geographic area will continue as before with administrative functions pooled together as mutually decided. Once fully integrated, this new Community will have approximately 500 sisters and 400 Mercy associates.

Sister Nancy, who has served as president of the Sisters of Mercy, Regional Community of Buffalo since 2000, added, “We see the plan as a proactive way of strengthening our ministries and mission. We are organizing ourselves in a new way to ensure a more viable future for ourselves and our ministries. Working together and combining our efforts will make us stronger and more effective in ministry and stewardship.”

“Like Catherine McAuley, the Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, we will continue to read the signs of the times to see where we can best serve those who are in need, while displaying a special concern for women and children,” she said.

In 2001, the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of the Americas in Silver Spring, Md. announced plans to reconfigure 25 regional communities located in twelve countries into six Communities, five in the United States and one in the Caribbean, Central and South America. The Northeast became one Community on July 1, 2006. The Mid-Atlantic Community was effective January 1, 2007, and the South Central and West Midwest Communities will follow by mid-2008. The CCASA (Caribbean, Central America and South America) Community will form in 2009.
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Messages to: Melanie A. Griffis
Director, Communications
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Regional Community of Buffalo