View 175th anniversary web page here.

In 2018 the Sisters of Mercy commemorated and celebrated the 175^th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the beginning of a vibrant legacy of service. Resources include videos featuring the history of the Sisters of Mercy in the United States, the history of Mercy education and the history of Mercy health care.

Sandy Flaherty, Director of Catholic Identity and Religious Studies teacher at Mercy High School in Burlingame, California, has published this informative and guiding resource for families considering a Catholic education. It is designed to educate parents on how Catholic education is distinct from other learning environments. Read it here.

• Catherine’s Prayer for Guidance
• Suscipe of Catherine McAuley

This page on the Mercy International Association website lists quotes from the writings of Catherine McAuley.

This link includes resources for K-12 classrooms, school activities and resources for reflection.

This clickable five-week calendar provides daily opportunities to watch, listen, learn and act and pray. Mercy Volunteer Corps has also shared this blank version of the calendar that can be customized with resources appropriate for younger children – please contact us if you need help setting one up for your classroom.

Critical Concerns Poster

The Sisters of Mercy website includes resource pages for each of the five Critical Concerns.

• Anti-Racism
• Earth
• Immigration
• Nonviolence
• Women

The English department at Mercy High School in Burlingame, California, developed a summer reading program that highlights our Mercy Critical Concerns. All files for the summer reading program are available on Google Drive. You an also view them as PDFs below:

• English 1 – summer reading assignment
• English 2 – summer reading assignment
• English 3 – summer reading assignment
• English 4 – summer reading assignment

The curriculum guides below were designed by a group of Mercy educators in August 2018.  Click to download the guides in PDF format.

• Download all curriculum guides as one PDF
• Anti-Racism
• Earth
• Immigration
• Nonviolence
• Women

Supporting Materials

• Executive Summary
• Instructions for Use of Curriculum Guides
• Letter to Users
• Reflection on Collaboration
• Introductory Video

This guide, shared by educators at Colegio Santa Ethnea, includes curriculum ideas for natural and social environments, literature, visual education, personal and social formation / emotional education / integrated sexual education, practices of the use of language and physical expression.

View guide here.

Using the framework of the 15 Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, this curriculum guide delves into the life and legacy of Catherine McAuley and provides opportunities and resources to inspire students about ways they can make Mercy real in the world today. A robust reference list provides information about service learning, suggested reading for students and teachers about the life of Catherine McAuley and much more.

Curriculum Guide as PDF  |  Curriculum Guide in Google Docs – To create a copy of the curriculum that you can save and edit, please click “File” then “Make a Copy.” Enter a unique name and then click “OK.” The copy you create will be visible only to you.

The curriculum writing team takes you on a tour of the curriculum in this video.

This series of articles from Earthbeat, a project of National Catholic Reporter, explores Laudato Si’ through a social, political and spiritual lens.

The film In God Alone – The Story of Catherine McAuley is available online. There are two versions of this 23-minute film, one in English and one with Spanish subtitles; you can view them here.

If you are sharing this film in your classroom, MIA invites you to use the following worksheets (available in English and Spanish) with your students:

• Primary school students worksheet: English (U.S. letter) | English (A4) | Spanish
• Secondary school students worksheet: English (U.S. letter) | English (A4) | Spanish

View GSR in the Classroom here. Topics include:

• Advent
• Environment
• Human Trafficking
• Lent
• Migration
• Race Relations
• Vocations

This classroom guide is based on an article written by Sister of Mercy Jenny Wilson, theology teacher at Mount Mercy Academy (Buffalo, New York).

From the GSR in the Classroom website: GSR in the Classroom helps students learn about the varied missions and ministries of Catholic women religious — and religious life — around the world. Each lesson explores Global Sisters Report articles and columns more deeply by posing questions that first open readers’ minds to new learning, then help them understand what they’ve read. Other features deepen the message with pertinent passages from Scripture and Catholic social teaching. … Each lesson sends learners forth in prayer.

Teacher guides provide important background about the issues that each lesson explores, as well as engaging activities to focus the group and prayers that classes can lift up together.

… Most activities are easily adapted for group or individual use. Likewise, while our current target audience is high school learners, most elements are flexible enough for use by middle-school students as well.

This bimonthly publication of the Sisters of Mercy Institute Justice Team highlights Mercy’s response to our Critical Concerns. The newsletter is published in both English and Spanish. Articles include:

• Examples of how the Mercy community is responding to justice issues.
• Opportunities to get involved with social justice advocacy.

Access the Institute Justice Newsletter here. If you’d like to receive the newsletter and action alerts to your inbox, you can sign up here.

This resource from Catholic Mobilizing Network serves as an accompaniment to the film Just Mercy and offers viewers a way to explore the Catholic call to uphold the sanctity of life within the U.S. criminal legal system. View the resource or download as a PDF here.

In commemoration of the 5th anniversary of Laudato Si’, the Sisters of Mercy have created a “visual reading” of the encyclical, highlighting key passages with powerful images, which is perfect for individual reflection as well as classroom activities.

Part 1: Pollution and Climate Change

Part 2: The Issue of Water

Part 3: Loss of Biodiversity

Part 4: Global Inequality

• “Lessons in Lent” from Global Sisters Report in the Classroom. This series of six lesson plans and teacher guides helps us draw nearer to Christ on his path to the Passion from the perspective of Catholic sisters. The series explores fresh meaning in familiar Lenten gospels and brings new depth to students’ Lenten disciplines and discoveries. Each installment includes a reflection from a Catholic sister, scripture connection, prayer, suggested action and more.
• Video: Ash Wednesday Reflection from Sister Danielle Gagnon, RSM

The MAST Journal is published three times a year by the Mercy Association in Scripture and Theology. Each issue contains essays exploring a particular theme. Recent themes have included:

• Forgiveness
• Go Out to All the World: Mercy Foundresses
• Concerns of Pope Francis

The MAST Journal archives are located here. Holding your cursor over each issue title will allow you to preview the essays in that issue, and clicking on the issue title will bring you to a PDF of that issue. Subscription info for The MAST Journal is located here.

This resource is an outline of a 2018 Mercy Day project at Colegio Santa Ethnea which focuses on nonviolence.

Accompanied by faculty members, students visit local families to talk about peace, share a blessing and leave a gift of holy water.  Each family is also invited to come to the school later for a student performance. The full project is described in this letter to faculty from Ali Botto, coordinator of catechesis, and can be adapted to meet the needs and locality of your school.

View resource here.

View guide here.

View guide here.

Reflective Exercises for Use Before, During and After Times of Crisis

View the prayer book here.

This senior capstone project from Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women allows students to connect their talents, passions and interests to the Mercy Critical Concerns and Core Values. View resource here.

This project shared by Colegio Santa Ethnea helps students in grades 1-6 learn about building peace with everyday actions; learn and reflect on the lives of different peacebuilders including Catherine McAuley, Malala Yousafzai, Mahatma Ghandi and others; and share the message of peace with the rest of the school through visual displays.

View resource here.

This resource from Colegio Santa Ethnea shares tips on identifying and addressing areas of conflict in an educational community.

View resource here.

Mercy Education System of the Americas (MESA) is committed “to find ways to have courageous conversations that inspire graced actions to preserve the dignity of and respect for each human being.”

As part of this commitment, the MESA Staff in conjunction with colleagues throughout the Mercy world have shared resources that may be used for one’s own personal edification on race and antiracism as well as classroom resources to help students grow in their understanding of our Mercy Critical Concern for antiracism. View resource list here.

This page on the Sisters of Mercy website includes resources information on retreat centers and spiritual direction as well as a comprehensive list of Mercy prayers and spirituality resources.

This mini-course focuses on themes of change, unity and solidarity. By connecting racism to the greater Catholic Social Teaching of Human Dignity, the course helps students understand more about its origins, how it affects others, and how to confront racism and stand in solidarity with people of all walks of life. View the course here.

• • Overview
  • Scope and sequence
  • View a sample lesson from “Understanding Racism” by logging in here.
    Username: justice@smp.org
    Password: Justice123!

Educators can also contact the Saint Mary’s Press Ministry Care Team to request complete access.

We know in our Mercy secondary schools, educating students on the Critical Concerns goes hand-in-hand with educating them on their potential to make an impact on these issues through their words, their actions and, when eligible, their votes. We have compiled a list of resources here including voter guides, tips for nonviolent conversation on controversial issues and more.

An outline of the process to become a Sister of Mercy is available here.