Trócaire: A New Mercy Retreat Experience

By Erin DaCosta, Director of Campus Ministry, Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall

Being a Mercy Catholic school is a privilege, a true gift. We are part of a living tradition rooted in the story of Catherine McAuley and animated by the Mercy charism, a call to respond to the needs of our world with compassion, courage, and practical action. Catherine did not simply speak about mercy. She embodied it by stepping into the suffering of others with unwavering faith and a fierce commitment to dignity and justice. That same spirit continues to shape who we are at Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall in Milford, Connecticut.

For many years, Lauralton offered an overnight retreat experience for our upper-level students. While meaningful, it was grounded in a different spiritual tradition. Last year, we found ourselves longing for something more deeply our own, something rooted explicitly in Mercy. From that desire, Trócaire was born. Drawing from the Gaelic word for mercy, we envisioned a retreat experience that was authentically steeped in our own story.

Trócaire invited students into a space to listen, share, reflect, and pray within the Mercy framework. As juniors and seniors, students were already familiar with Catherine’s story and the Mercy Core Values. This retreat offered something more, an invitation to go deeper. Students were challenged to draw meaningful connections between Catherine’s life, the enduring Mercy charism, and their own lived experiences. Just as Catherine responded to the unmet needs of her time in Dublin, founding the House of Mercy on Baggot Street as a place of education, refuge, and hope, our students were invited to consider how they, too, are being called to respond in today’s world.

A dedicated team of senior leaders worked tirelessly for nearly a year, thoughtfully discerning what this new retreat could become. They carefully preserved the most meaningful elements of the previous experience while reimagining it through a Mercy lens. In doing so, they mirrored Catherine herself, stepping into the unknown with trust in God, responding to a call greater than themselves, and remaining open to growth and change along the way. Like Catherine, they embraced both the challenge and the grace of building something new in service of others.

During the retreat, student leaders offered powerful witness talks centered on Catherine’s life, the Mercy charism, the Critical Concerns, and their own journeys of faith. Drawing on key moments from Catherine’s story, they wove together narratives that made Mercy tangible and real. They showed retreatants that the charism is not simply something we learn about. It is something we live. In quiet acts of compassion, in the pursuit of justice, and in moments of courage and integrity, Mercy becomes not just our heritage, but our way of being in the world.

As the retreat came to a close, one truth became abundantly clear. Mercy is not confined to a retreat space or a single experience. It is a lifelong call. Catherine McAuley herself reminds us, “We should be shining lamps, giving light to all around us.” The spirit of Trócaire does not end when students return home. It continues in classrooms, in relationships, and in the choices they make each day. With hearts formed by Mercy, our students are sent forth not only to carry on Catherine’s legacy, but to become that light for a world in need of compassion, justice, and hope.