Catherine McAuley

Laywoman and Founder of the Sisters of Mercy
1778 – 1841

Catherine McAuley lived in Dublin, Ireland at a time of great poverty and discrimination against Catholics. Though her parents died during her childhood, her father instilled a deep compassion in her for those left behind by society. From her mother she learned poise and social graces. Catherine spent 20 years caring for an aged couple, the Callaghans, and eventually became the heiress of their fortune.

She used all the money to build the House of Mercy for poor women and children in an upper class neighborhood of Dublin. Catherine knew how to connect the wealthy with the poor, and therefore was successful in gaining the support of wealthy women who wanted to help her in reaching out to those in need. Soon Catherine was advised by the Church to form a religious community in order for her good works to continue. At first Catherine resisted but finally consented and she and three companions became the first Sisters of Mercy in 1831.

Requests for Sisters came quickly and in her brief 10 years established convents across Ireland and in England. The Sisters of Mercy came to Cincinnati in 1858 and immediately began teaching and visiting the sick in their homes. Sisters answered the call to nurse in the Civil War. Soon the Sisters established schools and hospitals and staffed parish schools throughout the Archdiocese and beyond.

The Sisters of Mercy came to Nativity at the invitation of Rev. Jerome Bartel in 1925 and provided quality Catholic education to thousands of Nativity students for more than seven decades. Sister Carren Herring was the last Sister of Mercy to be principal at Nativity through 1984. The Mercy spirit and tradition continues in the school through the dedication of lay teachers.

Learn more about the Sisters of Mercy. >>