The Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas is part of an international order of Roman Catholic women religious, founded in Dublin, Ireland in 1831 by Catherine McAuley. There are Institutes, Congregations and Federations of Sisters of Mercy in the Americas, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, Newfoundland, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The first Sisters of Mercy arrived in America in 1843 from Ireland and spread across the country, establishing schools and hospitals and ministering to those in need. Today, the Sisters remain committed to deepening their relationship with God and serving others, particularly those who are sick, economically poor and uneducated.
The South Central Community, itself, was formed in 2008. It is composed of the former Sisters of Mercy Regional Communities of Baltimore, Cincinnati/Jamaica, North Carolina/Guam and St. Louis. The South Central Community, with administrative offices located in Belmont, North Carolina, has more than 450 Sisters serving in 24 States in the United States, the U.S. territory of Guam and Jamaica.
For More Than 130 Years...
The former Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina initially came to Belmont, NC in 1892 to open Sacred Heart Academy, but soon expanded their focus to include caring for the sick. Responding to needs of their civic communities, the Sisters opened St. Joseph's Sanitarium in Asheville, NC in 1900 and Mercy General Hospital in Charlotte, NC in 1906.
Eighty-nine years later, Mercy Hospital had become Mercy Health Services, a multi-site system of hospitals, physician offices and outpatient services. In 1995, the Sisters of Mercy decided to move beyond the direct provision of acute health care services in addressing the needs of the unserved and underserved. That year, Mercy Health Services was sold for $115 million and the proceeds from the divestiture were used by the Sisters to create the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation.
Three years later, in 1998, St. Joseph's Hospital, which had been converted from a tuberculosis sanitorium to a general hospital in 1938, was sold for $82 million. These funds were added to the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation's assets. From 1996 through 2022, Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation used these assets to further the mission of mercy by providing grant support for the educational, health care and social service needs of the economically poor.
In the new century, the Sisters of Mercy have undergone a process of reorganization and restructuring to enable the Sisters to better serve around the world. This process required changes to the governance of Sisters of Mercy sponsored ministries as well, resulting in the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation transitioning from its governance as a corporation to, instead, a part of the Mercy Ministry Corporation of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Our work continues as it has since our founding in 1995, under the name Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Legacy. We will continue to give grants to non-profit corporations who are doing works of mercy.
Continuing to Serve Unmet Needs
Just as Mercy and St. Joseph's Hospitals opened their doors to offer medical care in response to the needs of their civic communities, Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Legacy continues to address unmet and underserved needs in Charlotte-Metrolina and western North Carolina, honoring the dedication and tradition of service begun in 1892 by the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina.
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