The path of mercy : the life of Catherine McAuley

This is the first full-length, documented narrative in more than fifty years of the life of Catherine McAuley (1778?-1841), the Dublin woman who founded the Sisters of Mercy. This work places McAuley in her Irish context, particularly in post-penal Dublin, where the destitution, epidemics and lack of basic education, especially of poor women and young girls, led her to a life of practical mercifulness. Using extensive primary sources and questioning aspects of earlier accounts, The path of mercy illuminates Catherine's personality and details her life. It recounts her efforts, using her inheritance from her foster parents, to address the poverties of Irish people in her time. Together with the women who eventually joined her when she founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831, she sheltered homeless women, taught them employable skills, opened a school for the daughters of the very poor, and visited the sick and dying in the slums of Dublin. She later founded the same works of mercy in nine other towns in Ireland and in two cities in England. At the age of 63, she died of tuberculosis in the Baggot Street convent. During the past 180 years, more than 55,000 Sisters of Mercy have served among the poor and needy throughout the world. This book is published in the USA by the Catholic University of America Press. Contents Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. James McGauley’s Daughter: 1778–1809 2. With the Callaghans at Coolock: 1809–1822 3. The Bequest and Its Use: 1823–1826 4. New Sorrows and Responsibilities: 1827–1829 5. The House of Mercy: 1829–1830 6. George’s Hill at Fifty-Two: 1830–1831 7. The Beginnings—and Cholera: 1832 8. Her “First-Born”: 1833 9. Daily Life at Baggot Street: 1834 10. Beliefs and Motivations 11. Short Steps and Great Strides: 1835 12. The Traveling Begins: 1836 13. Suscipe: 1837 14. Resilience: 1838 15. Willie McAuley and His Aunt December: 1838 16. Loss and Friendship 17. Joys and Sorrows Mingled: 1839 18. The Rule Goes to Rome: Early 1840 19. “100 Miles to Meet This Cross”: 1840 20. “The Business of Our Lives”: Early 1841 21. “Providential Guidance”: May–August 1841 22. “’Tis Come to a Close”: September–November 1841 Epilogue Appendix: A Note on Sources Bibliography Index Breaking new ground in presenting the life of Catherine McAuley (1778?-1841), the Dublin woman who founded the Sisters of Mercy, Mary C. Sullivan has written the first full-length, documented narrative of McAuley in more than fifty years. This work places McAuley in her Irish context, particularly in post-penal Dublin, where the destitution, epidemics, and lack of basic education, especially of poor women and young girls, led her to a life of practical mercifulness