Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy —
to Lose One’s Self in Mary to Glorify Jesus

Our Heritage

Founded by Venerable Mother Theresa of Jesus Bacq (b. 1825 – d. 1896), in Nancy, France in 1864. Guided by the Spirit always toward new ways, in Mother Theresa the “fiat” of Mary is confirmed.

• Called to follow Christ in greater freedom and imitate Him more closely, participating in the saving mystery of His redeeming merciful love.
• Essentially Marian in spirit, expressed through the commitment to live the life of Jesus in Mary, through Mary, and with Mary, our Mother of Mercy.
• Aggregated to the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (Mercedarian Friars) since 1887 and enjoying all the privileges, indulgences and spiritual gifts of the Mercedarian family.

Our Spirit and Life

• In prayer together, we express in visible form the mystery of the praying Church community, which is not born of human will, but of the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
• Our praying together becomes, therefore, the privileged moment of our fraternal life and constitutes for us, in a particular way, the sign that manifests and lives the unity of the Church.

Religious profession is the act which you, through the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience ratify your commitment of the gift of yourself in holiness to God, to His Church and to our Congregation.

The Promise of Dedication is unique to our religious family. Responding to the demands of mercy and the spirit of Mother Theresa of Jesus, on the day of your perpetual profession, you are consecrated by a solemn promise, to the spiritual and temporal welfare of all those for whom the apostolic activities of our Congregation are destined.

Our Habit

• An expression of the state of life embraced by the Sisters.
• The external sign of belonging to the Congregation which speaks of the Sister’s life of poverty and simplicity.
• Consists of a simple, ankle-length, white tunic and belt, scapular and a black veil. A white rosary is worn on the right side. The professed Sisters wear the Mercedarian emblem with a crucifix upon the scapular.

Our Service

As Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy (Mercedarian Sisters), we are committed to communicate to all the world the freedom of the merciful love of Christ, Who delivers us from every earthly captivity. We accomplish this apostolic action in nine countries through:

• Guiding retreat centers and houses of prayer.
• Teaching in elementary schools and religious education programs.
• Missionary and evangelization work
• Caring in homes for children and the elderly.
• Nursing the sick in clinics and hospitals.
• Silence, mortification and humility are the basis of our Mercedarian religious commitment.

As a community, we have:

• Daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
• Meditation in common every day.
• Daily praying of the Liturgy of the Hours.
• Recitation of the Rosary together each day.
• Daily spiritual reading.
• Monthly days of recollection.
• An annual spiritual retreat.

Our Formation as Sisters

The purpose of religious formation is the preparation of authentically consecrated women; that is, true women of God who, through total dedication in love, intend to live the ideal proposed by our Mother Foundress: to be the presence and gift of His merciful love in the Church.

The Postulancy:

• Lasts six to twelve months.
• To develop a greater knowledge of the Congregation and our Foundress.
• To live and share in the life of our community through prayer, work and the common life.
• To discern your call and commitment to Christ and to the Church.

The Novitiate:

• A two-year period.
• As a Sister, you are fully introduced into the life of our Congregation, with its customs and traditions, its duties and obligations, and its ritual celebrations.
• You will receive a complete doctrinal and spiritual formation in preparation for your public commitment to Christ and His Church.

Our Mission

Venerable Theresa of Jesus learned to follow Christ realistically by discovering the price of that love.  Her idea: to lose oneself in the abyss of Mary’s heart in order to love and glorify Jesus,is still lived out today through, with and in her daughters, the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. For more than one hundred and thirty years, we, through works of mercy and charity have carried out our charism of liberation of captives on five continents. Today, over six hundred Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy live as little ones among the little ones of the Lord; loving completely, simply and joyfully.  We have committed ourselves to attaining Mother Theresa’s ideal in our own time: to represent everywhere acceptance, witness and the gift of God’s merciful love in order to attain holiness with our brothers and sisters.

If you are called to live a Mercedarian religious life, following the paths of Jesus and Mary in the footsteps of Mother Theresa of Jesus, please write or call:

Vocation Directress
Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy
1941 Wynnewood Rd.
Philadelphia, PA 19151

Tel. (215) 427-3261