Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (2011 - )

More Information [close]

The Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea was formed from the amalgamation of the Papua New Guinea congregation of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy, together with 14 of the Institute's 17 Australian congregations, which included the Melbourne congregation. The 14 congregations of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy in Australia were: Adelaide, Ballarat East, Bathurst, Cairns, Goulburn, Grafton, Gunnedah, Melbourne, Perth, Rockhampton, Singleton, Townsville, West Perth, Wilcannia-Forbes. ISMAPNG is part of the worldwide Mercy International Association.

In forming ISMAPNG, 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.

ISMAPNG is governed by a leader and council elected by the chapter. They are based in Sydney. 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 and Rockhampton.

The Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea follows 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.