The lecture by Sr. Anna Nicholls, “The Iconic Status of Catherine McAuley,” was originally presented at the June 2025 MAST gathering. In the presentation, Nicholls examines the various images of Catherine McAuley that have emerged over time, exploring both their meaning and impact on the Mercy mission. She also asks what those images have done for the Mercy mission.
We need images that bring the Annunciation into our world, to shape our perception to behold the “now” of the Incarnation, to see, to hear, and to respond to the call to bear mercy into the world.
Sisters of Mercy joined Catholics around the world rejoicing at the news of a new pontiff, and even more so when they learned who it was. Pope Leo XIV has many ties to Mercy through his family and his ministries.
What do you notice about Our Lady of Sorrows? Take a moment. What calls to you? For me, first, it is her furrowed brow. I have been told my brow furrows, and I unwittingly reveal confusion, anger or sadness with the crinkling of my forehead. My face shows what my heart feels before my words are formed and spoken. Our Lady of Sorrows peers deeply
Catherine McAuley evidently thought the Sisters of Mercy and their companions in merciful action could learn something centrally important from St. Catherine of Siena. In the 1830s, when she composed the original Rule of the Sisters of Mercy, using the Rule of the Presentation Sisters as her guide, she inserted references to Catherine of Siena in two places. In listing the saints to whom the sisters were
We live in upheaval. Among the questions we must ask are, what does it mean to be human, how should we act, and what is our vision for society? Human sexuality and gender identity issues are among the questions our society must face with an openness to new insights and with a commitment to lifelong learning. The Sisters of Mercy, the religious order to which I
They were all gathered in one place together: Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Burundis, Kenyans, Sudanese, Americans, Vietnamese, Syrians and Samoans. Suddenly, there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire space in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all