Our Mission is expressed through …
Mercy Charism
The school’s identity and practice is firmly rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy and their foundress, Catherine McAuley.
Catholic Identity
The school gives evidence of its Catholic Identity in its curricular offerings, prayer and liturgical life, retreats and service opportunities.
History of Mercy Education
1820s – Roots in Ireland
September 24, 1827 – Catherine McAuley opened the House of Mercy on Baggot St., Dublin, Ireland, including the first “Mercy School” – a classroom dedicated to training young women. Learn more about Catherine’s story.
1840s – Mercy Education Comes to the United States
From Ireland, Mercy education spread to the United States and beyond.
Mother Frances Warde came to Pittsburgh in 1843. She and her companions began teaching at once. The early roots of Mercy Education in the United States are detailed in this video. Their energy in ministering attracted many new members, and Mercy schools began to spread throughout the United States.
1880s to 1890s – Mercy Education in Belize and Jamaica
Saint Catherine Academy had its beginning in a little school that was started on the first floor of the Sisters of Mercy Convent, the day after their first arrival in Belize on January 20, 1883.
In Jamaica, Jessie Ripoll purchased property that she named Alpha that she dedicated to the education of youth.
The Alpha schools of Jamaica, founded by Jessie Ripoll, embrace the Mercy tradition following the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in Jamaica in 1890. Jessie Ripoll entered the order in 1891 and became known as Sister Mary Peter Claver, and the Alpha education legacy continued to grow.
Mercy Education in the 20th Century
Mercy schools continue to open to respond to unmet needs in communities around the world: Argentina, Guam, Honduras, the Philippines and the United States and Guam.
In the late 1970s, Sisters of Mercy serving as school administrators planned for ways to foster collaboration among Sisters of Mercy and colleagues in the ministry of secondary education. This led to the establishment of Mercy Secondary Education Association in 1982.
The Mercy Elementary Education Network formed in 1983 and the Network for Mercy Education formed in 1999, all with the goal of collaboration about Mercy educators to strengthen and extend the influence of a Mercy in the world.
2017 - Founding of Mercy Education System of the Americas
Mercy Education System of the Americas was formally established to unite and serve the Mercy education ministries in Argentina, Belize, Guam, Honduras, Jamaica, the Philippines and the United States. This introductory video celebrates the founding of Mercy Education.
Mercy education, faithful to Catherine’s legacy, continues into the present!