… from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly. It is a spring that will never run dry, no matter how many people draw from it. Every time someone is in need, he or she can approach it, because the mercy of God never ends. The profundity of the mystery surrounding it is as inexhaustible as the richness which springs up from it.
Misericordiae Vultus #25 Pope Francis
Mercy Wellsprings, Incorporated
In 2024 there are seven ministries sponsored by and reporting to the Congregational Leadership Team: St. Patrick’s Mercy Home, St. Patrick’s Mercy Home Foundation, St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital Advisory Council, The Gathering Place, Mercy Centre for Ecology and Justice, Belvedere Orphanage Fund and Misericordia Mission Fund. Most of these ministries have legal status according to the Companies Act (Province of Newfoundland and Labrador), have a Board of Directors and a certain level of autonomy in the governance and management of their specific activities. Some have charitable status according to Canadian Federal standards.
As the members of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland increase in age and diminish in numbers, the Congregation, in conversation with colleagues, has been engaged in a discernment process regarding the future. A decision was made by the general assembly of the sisters, the 22 General Chapter (2021), to establish a legal entity that would oversee and carry out the governance of the various “sponsored ministries” of the Congregation. That entity, a legal corporation, was registered on August 10, 2023 as Mercy Wellsprings, Incorporated.
Executive Director Appointed
Effective 29 July 2024, the Board of Directors of Mercy Wellsprings has appointed Ms. Susan Elliott MBA (Hons) as the first Executive Director.
Susan is delighted to join the Sisters of Mercy and their partners in ministry in this new venture of Mercy Wellsprings, Inc. As Executive Director she will lead the new corporation in guiding the function and operation of the ministries of the Sisters of Mercy into the future. She is entrusted with this task in collaboration with the Sisters and with the wonderful men and women who hold leadership roles in each of the ministries today and onwards.
Board of Directors Confirmed
The Board of Directors oversee the governance and operations of Mercy Wellsprings – appointed by the Members for set terms of office.
Seated (L-R): Sr. Elizabeth Davis, Sr. Diane Smyth, Hon. George Furey, Ms. Meghan Gardner
Standing (L-R): Mr. Brent Meade, Mr. Jim Meaney, Ms. Ann Manning
More informatiuon about Mercy Wellsprings can be read here
Poverty, migration and gender inequality contribute to social vulnerability which traffickers exploit through force, threats, fraud and false promises of better lives and work opportunities. Consequently, vulnerable persons are bought and sold for financial or self-serving purposes. Over 27 million people around the globe are affected by this tragic situation.
The tradition of the Olympic Truce began in ancient Greece in the ninth century BC through a treaty signed by three Greek city states which were almost constantly at war. The Truce allowed safe participation for all athletes and spectators during the Olympic Games. In our current reality in society, politics and sport, revival of this tradition aims to provide a halt to war and a return to safety for all peoples around the world.
Recognizing the situation of many elderly people, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life chose as its theme for this year “Do not cast me off in my old age” (Psalm 71:9). Announcing the theme in a press release, the Dicastery noted the loneliness prevalent in the life of many elderly persons who are “so often the victims of the throw-away culture.”
After the completion of her studies at St. Brides, Minnie entered the Sisters of Mercy, and at her reception into the novitiate received the name Sister Mary Benedicta. She was professed on December 27, 1887. During her years at St. Bride’s Sister M. Benedicta’s musical talent was developed under the direction of the highly skilled Sister M. Xaverius Dowsley, and she herself became an accomplished musician. She wrote the music for one of Archbishop Howley’s poems, Dear Old Southside Hills.
She and her few companions ministered in the school she had opened in 1843 and cared for the sick in their homes and at St. John’s Hospital, even during the most virulent epidemics that occurred so frequently in St. John’s in those days. Just a year before her death she opened Immaculate Conception Orphanage at Mercy Convent to care for children orphaned by these epidemics.
Ella y sus pocas compañeras ejercieron su ministerio en la escuela que había abierto en 1843 y atendieron a los enfermos en sus casas y en el Hospital de San Juan, incluso durante las epidemias más virulentas que se daban con tanta frecuencia en San Juan en aquellos días. Justo un año antes de su muerte abrió el Orfanato de la Inmaculada Concepción en el Convento de la Misericordia para atender a los niños huérfanos a causa de estas epidemias.