2013 Pilgrimage of Young Mercy Leaders (MIA)

Students who participated in the Pilgrimage of Young Mercy Leaders continue to embody Mercy Leadership in their school and civic communities. This past week, two participants in the 2011 Pilgrimage of Young Mercy Leaders were named "Ambassadors of the Month" by Mercy Beyond Borders. Sofia Viegas and Johanna Mousley, along with their classmate Luci Headley, fundraised $1,100 in support of women and children in South Sudan.

Sofia and Johanna first met Marilyn Lacey rsm, executive director of Mercy Beyond Borders, in Dublin when she was a presenter for the 2011 Pilgrimage of Young Mercy Leaders. The Australian delegation, which included students and staff from nine Mercy schools in Victoria, then arranged for Marilyn to visit Australia and speak at a joint conference held at Academy of Mary Immaculate, Fitzroy, and to visit some of the Mercy schools in Victoria.

Plans are currently underway for the 2013 Pilgrimage of Young Mercy Leaders that will bring together up to 150 secondary school students and staff from 16th - 19th July 2013. Twenty six students and four staff members from eleven Australian Mercy schools are preparing for this pilgrimage, when they will join secondary school students from Mercy schools around the world.

Keynote presenters for the 2013 Pilgrimage include: Áine Barrins rsm who will break open some of Catherine McAuley's story; Karen Schneider rsm, a paediatric physician with Johns Hopkins University and Health System, who will talk about global Mercy ministry and share stories of her ministry with people living in extreme poverty in various countries around the world; and Mary Reynolds rsm, Executive Director of Mercy International Association, who will engage the theme of Mercy leadership today. These keynote presentations will be combined with workshops, discussions, rituals, socials, and the sharing of gifts and talents in an evening talent show.

To pre-register for the 2013 Pilgrimage of Young Mercy Leaders, e-mail Mary Kay Dobrovolny rsm.
Registration materials will be distributed in January, and need to be returned to MIA by Friday, 29th March 2013.

Messages to: Mary Kay Dobrovolny rsm - Assistant Director Heritage & Spirituality