The Diocese of Sacramento has been greatly blessed by the presence, witness, and ministry of the Sisters of Mercy for 150 years. At the invitation of Bishop Joseph Alemany, they arrived in San Francisco in 1854. When Mother Mary Baptist Russell, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy in California, came to Sacramento in 1857, California had been a state for only a few years. In the midst of the California Gold Rush, with its attendant social upheaval, the Sisters established schools, cared for orphans and provided assistance to the poor and needy.

Mother Mary Baptist was 25 years old when she left Ireland for the long voyage to California. Ireland was suffering the ravages of a famine that wiped out half of its population and the poverty and needs of the people of Ireland were intense and heart rending. So why did the Sisters of Mercy accept this new challenge to bring Mercy to a far flung part of the vineyard of the Lord? The answer is the heart of their vocation — yes to the Lord’s call to serve — a religious vocation, living out the vision of their foundress, Catherine McAuley of Dublin, Ireland. Mother Mary Baptist said “yes”’ and was described at that time as “an angel on earth, ready and willing to soothe all that were in affliction.” The “Order of Mercy” sisters was described as “ministering angels sent from God.”

In spite of many physical and financial hardships, the Sisters, with the help of Catholics and non-Catholics alike, opened St. Rose School, in the basement of St. Rose Church, (Sacramento’s first Catholic Church) only three days after their arrival. St. Rose’s was the first school of any kind in Sacramento. A few years later, St. Joseph Academy opened, offering young women basic education, commercial training and boarding accommodations. Over the next 150 years, the Sisters of Mercy expanded their ministry of education to include 14 elementary schools and four high schools.

Mercy Sisters opened the Catholic Orphanage of Sacramento, as well as a home for orphans in Grass Valley, to care for the many children orphaned as a result of the Gold Rush and the many epidemics. In 1900, Bishop Thomas Grace entrusted the orphanage (endowed by Jane Stanford, the Stanford Mansion at Eighth and N Streets) to the care of the Sisters of Mercy. There they educated and cared for many children until the Sisters of Social Service assumed operation of the Stanford Home in 1932.

Even though they came as teachers, the Sisters, in response to need, became the city’s first visiting nurses, caring especially for children and others who were victims of devastating floods in 1861. They cared for many who were afflicted by the waves of malaria, cholera, typhoid fever and tuberculosis. It was not surprising, then, that the Sisters were requested by the medical community to open a hospital. In 1896, the Sisters opened a temporary “Sisters’ Hospital” at 23rd and R Streets. In 1897, Mater Misericordiae Hospital was opened, with a nursing school across the street. Long referred to as “Sisters’ Hospital,” it served the growing population of Sacramento until the opening of Mercy General Hospital at J and 40th Streets in 1925.

The Sisters of Mercy and their works continue today in education, parish and diocesan ministry, health care, affordable housing and services for the poor or disadvantaged. We give thanks and pray for all the Sisters of Mercy who have carried on the vision of their foundress, Catherine McAuley: “It is for God we serve the poor and not for thanks...bestowing ourselves most freely and relying with unhesitating confidence on the mercy of God.”

We are grateful to the Sisters of Mercy for their generous response to need, their presence, witness, and ministry in this Diocese of Sacramento for the last 150 years. They have been a blessing to generations of both Catholics and the broader community and, God willing, will continue to be so long into the future.

To honor the Sisters of Mercy, the Diocese has: 1) named the assembly hall in the lower level of the Cathedral Mercy Memorial Hall; 2) given $25,000 toward tuition assistance at Cristo Rey High School, one of Mercy’s important sponsored works; 3) presented them with a papal blessing from Pope Benedict XVI; and 4) dedicated to their honor the first of 10 stained glass windows at the clerestory level in our Cathedral. These symbols are an attempt to express our deep gratitude to the Sisters of Mercy. Please join me in thanking and praying for them.

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