Catherine McAuley
Catherine Elizabeth McAuley was born on September 29, 1778, in Dublin, Ireland, into a wealthy, religious family that emphasized compassion and charity. After the deaths of her parents, she faced challenging living conditions with relatives before becoming a companion to an elderly couple, the Callaghans, who supported her charitable endeavors. With her inheritance, McAuley established the House of Mercy in 1827, a school and shelter for poor girls and women, aiming to provide education and support to those in need. While initially hesitant to form a religious order, she ultimately agreed to establish the Sisters of Mercy in 1831, alongside a few colleagues, in response to the Catholic Church's guidance. Throughout her life, McAuley faced numerous personal tragedies but remained committed to her mission, expanding her efforts to create multiple convents across Ireland and England. After her death in 1841, the Sisters of Mercy continued to grow, reaching other countries, including the United States by 1843. Today, the organization consists of thousands of women dedicated to service, particularly in providing education to underserved communities.
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Subject Terms
Catherine McAuley
Founder of Sisters of Mercy
- Born: September 29, 1779
- Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
- Died: November 11, 1841
- Place of death: Dublin, Ireland
Also known as: The Venerable Mother Catherine Elizabeth McAuley; Sister Catherine McAuley
Significance: Catherine McAuley was an Irish nun who in 1831 founded the Sisters of Mercy, a congregation of Roman Catholic women who dedicate their lives to teaching and helping people in need.
Background
Catherine Elizabeth McAuley was born in Dublin, Ireland, on September 29, 1778. McAuley, her brother, and her sister had loving, religious parents who were also wealthy. McAuley's father, James, was known for his compassion and often brought poor children to the family's home on weekends for religious instruction. He died in 1783 when McAuley was a young child but she was influenced by his kindness throughout her life. After her father's death, McAuley was raised by her mother, Elinor Conway McAuley. She taught her daughter to be kind and wise. Unfortunately, she also passed away in 1798.
After losing her mother, McAuley went to live with her mother's relatives, the Armstrongs. The situation was tense and difficult for McAuley, who was a Roman Catholic living with devout Protestants. When she was twenty-five, McAuley became a live-in companion for an elderly couple, William and Catherine Callaghan, who were friends of the Armstrongs. The Callaghans were also Protestant but were not as strict. They were wealthy and childless. McAuley took care of them and their home, the Coolock estate.
The Callaghans adored McAuley and supported her charity work. McAuley gave religious instruction to the household servants and poor village children. She taught young village women needlework and then opened a small shop to sell their goods. The Callaghans considered McAuley their foster daughter. They even converted to Catholicism—and left McAuley a great fortune after they died. She was about thirty-five years old and the sole heir of their estate and savings.
Life's Work
McAuley used her inheritance to buy land on Baggot Street in Dublin, on which she planned to build a large house. Her House of Mercy would be a school for poor girls and a shelter for homeless servant girls and women. It would have a dormitory for girls and women who planned to live there, a school, a church, and a work area where residents could be trained for jobs. While the House of Mercy was being constructed, McAuley brushed up on her academics, so she would be ready to teach her new students when they arrived.
A group of women offered to help her run the house and accompany her on visits to care for the sick in their homes, a risky endeavor at the time. McAuley was not interested in establishing a religious order, which is a group of people who take religious vows. At this time, nuns lived in seclusion and did not interact with the poor, the people McAuley wanted to serve.
The grand opening of the House of Mercy was set for September 1827. Many girls had already enrolled in the school. Then a month before the opening, McAuley's sister Mary died of consumption, a lung disease. Mary's husband, Dr. William Macauley, needed McAuley's help to raise their five children. McAuley was determined to do both.
Despite the tragedy, the House of Mercy opened as planned. Two women, Anna Maria Doyle and Catherine Byrn, moved into the house to work there full time, so McAuley could divide her time between Baggot Street and her brother-in-law's home. Two years later, Dr. Macauley died suddenly, making McAuley the guardian to nine children in all. (She was already guardian to two cousins and two orphans.)
Soon more women came to work at the House of Mercy, and McAuley faced harsh criticism from Catholics—the women there wore uniforms and performed religious exercises and instruction, yet they were not a religious order under the control of the Catholic church. Eventually, McAuley was approached by the archbishop of Dublin, who told her that she either had to drop the religious aspect of her work or bring it officially to the Catholic church. McAuley agreed to establish a religious order.
On December 12, 1831, McAuley, Mary Ann Doyle, and Mary Elizabeth Harley took their vows and became the first Sisters of Mercy. Other women soon joined them, including McAuley's niece, Mary Teresa Macauley. The Sisters of Mercy and the House of Mercy quickly grew. Soon, hundreds of girls were attending the school and countless girls and women sought shelter there.
Then tragedy struck Dublin and the Sisters of Mercy. Mary Elizabeth Harley died of consumption. Then the cholera epidemic of 1832 struck Dublin. McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy worked twelve-hour shifts in a cholera hospital for seven months. The following year, Mary Teresa Macauley died of consumption. In 1834, a new parish priest closed the chapel in the House of Mercy to the public. This hurt the House of Mercy financially, as the collections from masses were an important source of income.
However, despite deaths, illnesses, and other setbacks, McAuley preserved with her mission. Within ten years, she had established nine Convents of Mercy in Ireland and England. While they were independent of the House of Mercy on Baggot Street, McAuley spent at least a month at each to help get it up and running. She frequently visited the Sisters of Mercy at each establishment and kept in contact with them through her many letters. McAuley passed away in 1841 after a brief illness.
Impact
McAuley and two of her coworkers became the first Sisters of Mercy in 1831. After McAuley's death in 1841, some Sisters of Mercy established foundations in countries other than Ireland and England. The Sisters of Mercy have been in the United States since 1843, two years after McAuley's death. As of 2017, there were more than nine thousand Sisters of Mercy worldwide. The organization remained a group of Roman Catholic women who take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and service. While the Sisters of Mercy aim to help those in need, a primary focus is providing education to those who would not otherwise have access to it.
Bibliography
"Catherine McAuley." Mercy International Association, YPERLINK "http://www.mercyworld.org/foundress/landing.cfm?loadref=129" www.mercyworld.org/foundress/landing.cfm?loadref=129. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.
"Catherine McAuley's Story." Catherine McAuley School, INK "http://www.cms.catholic.edu.au/about-our-school/history/catherine-mcauley-s-story" www.cms.catholic.edu.au/about-our-school/history/catherine-mcauley-s-story. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.
"A History of Venerable Catherine McAuley." Religious Sisters of Mercy, HYPERLINK "http://www.rsmofalma.org/history/history.html" www.rsmofalma.org/history/history.html. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.
McAuley, Catherine and Mary C. Sullivan The Correspondence of Catherine McAuley, 1818-1841. The Catholic University of American Press, 2004.
"Our History." Sisters of Mercy, www.sistersofmercy.org/about-us/our-history/. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.
Sullivan, Mary C. The Path of Mercy: The Life of Catherine McAuley. The Catholic University of American Press, 2012.
Sullivan, Mary C. The Shining Lamp: The Oral Instructions of Catherine McAuley. The Catholic University of America Press, 2017.