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Mercy Heritage

Founder and sponsor of Saint Xavier University, the religious congregation of the Sisters of Mercy originated in Dublin, Ireland. Today, the Sisters of Mercy number over 11,000 members and serve in 21 countries including North, Central, Latin, and South America, Europe, South Africa, Guam, the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland. The Sisters of Mercy sponsor 18 colleges and universities in the United States and serve over 26,000 students.

History

Founded in 1831 by Mother Mary Catherine McAuley, and known as “the walking Sisters,” this congregation of Roman Catholic women moved beyond convent walls to walk amid and serve the poor, the sick, and the uneducated of their day. Such “secular” work outside the walls of the convent was unusual at the time because most communities of women religious were cloistered and had little contact with anyone outside the walls of the cloister.

In 1843, seven Sisters of Mercy left Dublin and sailed to the United States to establish the first Mercy Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1846, the needs of Irish immigrants drew the Sisters of Mercy from Pittsburgh to the pioneer town that was Chicago.

Under the guidance of Mother Frances Xavier Warde, for whom the Warde Academic Center at Saint Xavier University is named, five Sisters of Mercy, all under the age of 25, arrived in a diocese that was barely three years old. The first and only group of women religious in Chicago for the next ten years, the Sisters quickly established St. Francis Xavier Female Academy, the forerunner of Saint Xavier University and The Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School.

Within eight years after their arrival, all but one of the original groups of SXU founders had died, most as result of the nursing care they gave to victims of the cholera epidemic. But other Sisters of Mercy came and joined in spreading the Good News of the Gospel by their good example, through their prayer, tireless good works and acts of compassion and hospitality, and institutional ministries.

Historical Highlights

• In 1852, the Sisters of Mercy founded Chicago’s first permanent general “Hospital and Orphan Asylum,” now known as Mercy Hospital and Medical Center.
• During the Civil War, some Sisters of Mercy went South to nurse the Union Army, courageous service that drew a commendation from President Abraham Lincoln. Others stayed in Chicago to tend Confederate prisoners of war who were interned at Camp Douglas at 39th and Lake Shore Drive.
• Sisters of Mercy spread out across the Midwest to serve parishes and to establish schools in other parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
• On October 8, 1871, the Sisters of Mercy watched 25 years of service to Chicago go up in smoke, even as they shepherded student boarders and women residents to safety through the rubble of the Great Chicago Fire.
• In 1921, the Sisters of Mercy began to house and care for unwed mothers, a work that evolved to the care of physically and mentally limited people at Misericordia Homes.
• In 1956, Saint Xavier Academy, both a high school and a college, moved to 103rd and Central Park, the current site of both SXU’s Chicago Campus and The Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School.
• The Sisters of Mercy currently sponsor, co-sponsor, or staff a variety of other ministries, including the Provena Health System, Mercy Housing, Inc., Saint Catherine’s Residence for women in transition, and Marian Lake Villa, a continuum-of-care retirement community being jointly developed by six religious congregations.

Since 1846, Saint Xavier University has benefited from the continuous support of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas who currently number over 5,000 Sisters and over 2,300 Associates. Through their ministries, characterized by respect, compassion, hospitality, service, and excellence, the Sisters of Mercy and their lay Associates promote and celebrate their heritage at SXU.

Two Special Celebrations of Mercy

Saint Xavier University celebrates its Mercy heritage throughout the year, but especially on these two days:

• The Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, September 24
  The annual celebration of this Church feast day begins in front of the McDonough Chapel where Sisters of Mercy gather to extend “a comfortable cup of tea” to members of the University community to celebrate the founding of the House of Mercy in Dublin in 1827, four years before the actual founding of the congregation.
  
  More often ice cream than tea, the Sisters’ gesture of hospitality precedes a ceremony where the University commissions its leadership for hospitality and service. This annual ceremony takes place at the site of the “Academy Bell.”
  
  Pre-dating the Chicago Fire in 1871, the Academy Bell called the Sisters of Mercy to prayer and to teaching every day at Saint Xavier Academy. In 2004, the Academy Bell returned to the campus of Saint Xavier University where it graces the main entrance of the Warde Academic Center and rings to signal important University events such as Presidential Inaugurations, Founders’ Day, and other observances and celebrations of the lives of those whose examples “call” the University to respect, compassion, integrity, service, or justice.
  
  Following the ringing of the bell that concludes the commissioning ceremony, the University community gathers in McDonough Chapel for the Mass of the Holy Spirit to invoke the Spirit’s guidance and inspiration on the Saint Xavier University community.

• Founder’s Day; The Feast of Saint Francis Xavier, December 3
  Founders’ Day, honoring Mother Frances Xavier Warde, the American founder of the Sisters of Mercy, and her patron saint, Saint Francis Xavier, the Ignatian missionary, celebrates the Mercy heritage at Saint Xavier University.
  
  In recognition of the service of these two leaders of the Church, the University community honors an exemplary individuals for excellence in service to the University community with the Staff Excellence Award, the Saint Xavier Award for faculty, and the Mother Paulita Morris award for students.
  
  Nominated by their colleagues and classmates, these individuals are recognized at a campus wide celebration that begins with the ringing of the Academy Bell precedes a celebration of the liberal arts in the music, poetry, and art created by members of the Saint Xavier University community.
  
  The University community continues the celebration with conversation and camaraderie in the Butler Reception Room, named after Mercy Sister Josetta Butler, President when the University moved from its site on 49th and Cottage Grove to the site of the Chicago campus at 103rd and Central Park.

The Mercy Mission Continues

Together with their lay faculty and staff colleagues, who increasingly and most ably share the responsibility for grounding the teaching and learning mission at Saint Xavier University in its Mercy heritage, the Sisters of Mercy continue their mission of serving “the poor, the sick, and the uneducated” in the name of Jesus Christ.