The Institute was formed from 14 of the 17 congregations of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy in Australia, and from the region of Papua New Guinea. These are: Adelaide, Ballarat East, Bathurst, Cairns, Goulburn, Grafton, Gunnedah, Melbourne, Perth, Rockhampton, Singleton, Townsville, West Perth, Wilcannia-Forbes. The Institute is part of the worldwide Mercy International Association.
The North Sydney Sisters of Mercy, the Parramatta Sisters of Mercy and the Brisbane Sisters of Mercy are not part of the Institute, but remain closely related.
In forming the Institute, each of the 15 groups ceased to be a separate canonical and legal entity and its sisters are now members of the new Institute with all the rights and responsibilities of professed Sisters of Mercy. Within the Institute every sister belongs to a community which takes in a wide geographic area. There are six communities throughout the country and in PNG.
The Institute is governed by a leader and council elected by the chapter. They are based in Sydney and in 2012 will move to the Institute's centre which is in the former Convent of Mercy, Stanmore. Their day to day work of leadership is shared with the community leaders and much of the business of the Institute is administered through Mercy offices in Melbourne, Newcastle, Rockhampton.
The Institute of the Sisters of Mercy follows the lead of Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland in 1831. The Institute of the Sisters of Mercy followed the lead of Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland in 1831. Catherine McAuley wanted to support those who were marginalised and oppressed by unjust social attitudes and practices of her day. She established a House of Mercy in Dublin to provide educational, religious and social services for women and children who were at risk of homelessness through exploitation and entrenched poverty.
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Last updated:
19 December 2022
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/nsw/NE01180
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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