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Opening Doors:
On 24th September 1827, Catherine Mc Auley’s lifelong vision to help those in need, particularly women and children, came to fruition when the doors of the first House of Mercy were opened on Baggot Street, Dublin. On that historic day, her fellow laywomen, Anna Maria Doyle and Catherine Byrn, immediately began the works of Mercy by assisting those who sought help.
Almost 200 years later, the Doors of Mercy are still open and thousands of vowed Sisters, Associates, and Partners in Mission have responded and continue to respond to the call of Mercy throughout the world. In many situations, the mission of Mercy is today being led by lay people, individuals, and groups who look to Catherine’s legacy for inspiration.
Mercy International Association
Mercy International Association (MIA) strives to support, stimulate and inspire all who desire to ensure a new, vital, and creative way for the Mercy charism and the spirit of Catherine McAuley to be present in the world long into the future. It has a significant role as a catalyst in creating networks and opportunities for connection and enabling the sharing of resources.
Opening Doors
Opening Doors is part of our response to the challenges facing Mercy today. It is more than just a project; it symbolises openness, welcome, hospitality, networking, collaboration, and the sharing of Catherine’s legacy of Mercy. After wide-ranging consultation and group exploration, the following five themes have emerged as significant to our Mercy companions: Formation, Communications, Youth Engagement, Action for Justice and Structures.
Opening Doors is a comprehensive initiative that aims to develop relevant and meaningful in-person formation experiences and online formation resources for the Mercy global world. These resources are designed for a wide range of audiences, including the executive leadership teams of Mercy Ministries, Mercy Associates, universities, schools, hospitals, justice, environmental, and community groups, and all our companions throughout the Mercy world. It is a collaborative effort that unites us all in our shared mission of Mercy, making each one of us an integral part of this journey.
As we journey together, we look forward to your participation and engagement.
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Openings Doors Themes
Formation
In putting together our resources on Formation we are looking at the principles of formation in Mercy. We also looked at the thematic areas where formation is ongoing as well as preparing some targeted formation pieces for those working in various aspects of the Mercy Family worldwide. Formation is a journey that never ends and it is founded on the following principles:
- Formation is God’s mission.
- Formation is Catholic.
- Formation is inclusive.
- Formation in invitational
- Formation in relational.
- Formation is grounded in everyday realities.
- Formation is holistic.
- Formation is vocational.
- Formation is intentional.
(Be as Shining Lamps – a handbook for formation and reflection by Caroline Thompson)
We look forward to launching our Formation Resource Page soon which will gather and curate resources and make them accessible to all.
Communications
MIA Communications is the Mercy World’s connecting voice, linking people of Mercy to resources about Catherine McAuley, Mercy Spirituality, collective Justice Advocacy and to each other.
MIA strives to connect its diverse audiences worldwide.
We are building a vibrant, energetic and integrated presence across our strategic communications channels including our website, our newsletters and our social media presence. We will also further enhance these with additional multimedia content including podcasts.
Youth Engagement
Our youth engagement resources will centre on listening to young people and what draws them to Mercy.
We look forward to sharing more about our ongoing youth programmes, including Young Mercy Leaders’ Pilgrimage, as well as offering new resources and opportunities for young people to engage with Mercy.
Action for Justice
Catherine's practical, whole-hearted response to the injustices of her day, inspires Mercy International Association to hear and respond to the 'cry of Earth and the cry of the Poor' in our day.
Mercy Global Action is our dedicated presence on justice issues which includes our Advocacy at the UN.
Structures
We will ensure that the structures are in place to support all our Opening Doors efforts, which we will regularly review to reflect the actuality of the Mercy world today.
We plan to have a database of Mercy Ministries and have already established a number of working groups including groups on Formation and Youth Engagement.
When these new Opening Doors resources and links are live they can be accessed through this one step quick links menu below
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