September 24 is the anniversary of the opening of the first House of Mercy on Baggot Street, Dublin, Ireland in 1827. There, Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, an international religious institute of Roman Catholic women, opened a school for impoverished girls and a residence for homeless girls and women. She devoted her life to the poor, sick and uneducated, addressing especially the needs of women and children.
The Sisters of Mercy have been touching lives and evolving to meet community needs across the world ever since those early days on Baggot Street. Still a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Urgent Care is the only dedicated not-for-profit urgent care network in Western North Carolina, providing an alternative to hospital emergency rooms for the treatment of non-life-threatening illness and injury.
Today we continue Catherine McAuley’s legacy of caring and compassion in the name of Mercy, celebrating Mercy Day, today September 24.
