Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy is a Roman Catholic religious order that was founded in the 19th century for morally neglected girls and women.
history
On November 1st, 1862, the first House of Mercy was founded by Mother Teresa Ewa Potocka in Warsaw . Since then, this day has been considered the date of creation of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland . Maria Teresa Rondeau was co-founder . The spiritual co-founding is awarded to Maria Faustyna Kowalska .
Apostolic mission
The Houses of Mercy were a refuge for women and girls who were striving for a deep moral change and looking for new paths. The houses, which were initially a place of work and prayer, were later transformed into closed educational institutions for girls with a teaching program in elementary and vocational schools. This form of apostolic work existed in principle until 1962. However, in previous years the Polish state had already started to gradually take over the institutions run by the congregation. The remaining facilities were continued by the Congregation as Caritas offices. Then the sisters began to look after mentally and psychomotor disabled children as well as sick and neglected women.
On September 1, 1989, the Congregation received back the Youth Education Center for Girls in Cracow . This marked the beginning of the return of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy to apostolic work in the form of comprehensive care for people who were in deep moral despair and in need of help in a self-sacrificing manner.