Student Quinn Crispell on the Sisters of Mercy

Quinn Crispell (pictued) is a student at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania, USA and wrote this piece for the University’s centennial celebrations in 2024.

 As a student at Misericordia University, I recently attended a presentation by Sister Deirdre Mullan, The Journey – Stepping Out, as part of Misericordia’s centennial celebration.

The presentation was about Catherine McAuley, the first Sisters of Mercy, the opening of the House of Mercy in Dublin and the opening of College Misericordia in 1924. The Journey - Stepping Out took place from Dublin to Dallas and all the places in between from 1827 to 2024.

As someone who has been around Misericordia my whole life and has taken some religion classes, I have learned a lot about Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy.

The Walking Sisters

But, I also learned some new things from this presentation. The Sisters of Mercy became known as the ‘Walking Sisters’ and had more than 100 members within their first 10 years of existence.

The Sisters of Mercy came to the United States in 1843 and eventually came to the Diocese of Scranton in 1875.

They needed the help of some local laymen to buy 99 acres of land in Dallas in 1914 and welcomed 50 students to College Misericordia in September, 1924.

The college was taunted by the Ku Klux Klan in the early days but became a respected institution and a good neighbor. I learned during another presentation that Misericordia served as a hospital during the Agnes Flood of 1972 and 52 babies were born on campus.

I also learned about the ‘Depart to Serve’ painting that is on display in the campus library and the poem‘The Door of Mercy.’ 

It was interesting to learn more about the history of the Sisters of Mercy and Misericordia University.

Quinn Crispell

Article and image reproduced with permission.