Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia (1981 - )

• Australian Federation of the Sisters of Mercy (former name, 1957 - 1981)
• Australian Union of the Sisters of Mercy (former name, 1954 - 1957)

The Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia evolved from the seventeen individual congregations operating in Australia before 1981. It forms part of the world-wide network of Mercy Sisters. Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland in 1841. In 1846 the Sisters of Mercy came to Australia. Ursula Frayne, a friend of Catherine McAuley, arrived with six Sisters and settled in Perth , Western Australia, later moving to Melbourne. By 1954 the seventeen distinct autonomous groups had emerged through the processes of amalgamation and division. In 1953 eight of the autonomous groups formed the Australian Union of Sisters of Mercy, and in 1957 the remaining nine groups joined to form the Australian Federation of the Sisters of Mercy, which by 1981 became the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia. The Mercy Sisters describe this structure as 'a unique mode of governance continuing to express the traditional Mercy thrust towards decentralisation and unity but giving a clearer sign of the equally strong concern for a deep unity of spirit.' The Sisters of Mercy are committed to those most vulnerable in our society and wish to share God's loving kindness with others.

The Congregations are located in Adelaide, S.A., Ballarat East, Vic., Bathurst, N.S.W., Brisbane, Q'land, Cairns, Q'land, Goulburn N.S.W., Grafton, N.S.W., Gunnedah N.S.W., Melbourne, Vic., North Sydney, N.S.W.,Parramatta, N.S.W., Perth, W.A., Rockhampton, Q'land, Singleton, N.S.W., Townsville, Q'land, West Perth, W.A., Wilcannia-Forbes, N.S.W. and Papua New Guinea.

Related People

• Brazill, Joanna (1896 - 1988)

  [1918 - 1988]

• Bui, Elizabeth Nghia (1945 - )

  The Sisters of Mercy sponsored Elizabeth Bui to come to Australia

  [1976]

Books

• Allen, Maree G., The labourer's friends: Sisters of Mercy in Victoria and Tasmania, Hargreen in conjunction with Sisters of Mercy Melbourne Congregation, North Melbourne, 1989, 242 pp. [ Details... ]
• Astbury, Helen, Centenary, the Sisters of Mercy, South Australia, 1880-1980, Sisters of Mercy, Adelaide, S. A., 1980, 61 pp. [ Details... ]
• Bendeich, Fay B., Centenary of Sisters of Mercy, Branxton-Greta Parish, 1886-1986, Terry Wild, Greta, N.S.W., 1986. [ Details... ]
• Byrne, Geraldine ( Compiler), Valiant women: letters from the foundation Sisters of Mercy in Western Australia, 1845-1849, Polding Press, Melbourne, 1981, 174 pp. [ Details... ]
• Cabrini Fontana, Mary, Channels of Mercy: a history of Mercy schools in the South West of Western Australia, M Cabrini Fontana, Harvey, W.A., 1996, 120 pp. [ Details... ]
• Casey, Eileen, Held in our hearts: a story of the Sisters of Mercy of the Goulburn congregation, Sisters of Mercy Goulburn Congregation, Braddon, A.C.T., 2000, 498 pp. [ Details... ]
• Doherty, Catherine M., and Thompson, Nola A. ( Compilers), A delicate balance: pictures reflecting the living and working of the Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney, 1865-1990, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1991, 144 pp. [ Details... ]
• Killerby, Catherine Kovesi, Ursula Frayne: a biography, University of Notre Dame Australia, South Fremantle, W.A., 1996, 320 pp. [ Details... ]
• Meagher, Michael, The advent of the Sisters of Mercy, Bathurst, 1866, McQuarter and Quealy, Bathurst, NSW, 1931, 45 pp. [ Details... ]
• Murphy, Kierin, Beginnings 1902-2002: 100 years of the Sisters of Mercy and Catholic Secondary Education in Shepparton, Shepparton Printing Service and Notre Dame College, Shepparton, Vic., 2002, 96 pp. [ Details... ]
• O'Donoghue, M. Xaverius, Beyond our dreams: a century of the works of Mercy in Queensland, Jacaranda Press, Brisbane, 1961, 345 pp. [ Details... ]
• Sisters of Mercy ( compiler), The Sisters of Mercy in the south east, 1880-1980: a local history of the Sisters of Mercy in the south east of South Australia, Sisters of Mercy, Mt Gambier, S. A., 1980, 42 pp. [ Details... ]

Edited Books

• Wickham, Mary (ed.), Music on the hill: one hundred years of the Sisters of Mercy and catholic education, Casterton, 2002, Spectrum Publications Pty Ltd, Richmond, Vic., 2002, 153 pp. [ Details... ]

Online Resources

• Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia, 2003, http://www.mercysisters.org.au/. [ Details... ]