Monday, September 26, 2016
Sisters of Mercy celebrate 150 years of service in Tennessee
Nashville’s Cathedral of the Incarnation to Host Celebratory Mass Oct. 30
Press release
Sisters of Mercy, who managed Sacred Heart Catholic School in Lawrenceburg for 80 years and Sacred Heart School in Loretto for 87 years, are celebrating the 150th anniversary of their founding in Tennessee.
In recognition of this anniversary, Nashville’s Cathedral of the Incarnation will be the site of a Celebratory Mass at 2 p.m. on Oct. 30, with Bishop David R. Choby presiding. A reception will follow in the Cathedral’s Fleming Center.
In Lawrenceburg, the Precious Blood Sisters initiated Sacred Heart School in 1873. The school soon became an integral and valued segment of parish life. When this religious order was unable to continue its work at Sacred Heart, the sisters transferred the school into the professional care of the Sisters of Mercy of Nashville. Under the Sisters of Mercy leadership for 80 years, Sacred Heart Catholic School was renovated and expanded many times to meet student demand.
Just three years after the Precious Blood Sisters opened Sacred Heart School in Lawrenceburg, they were sent to Loretto in September 1876, to run the Sacred Heart School there. In 1904, these nuns were forced by poverty to return to their motherhouse. In October 1907, Reverend Kempheus, appealed to St. Bernard Convent in Nashville for nuns. Sacred Heart School reopened on October 22, 1907, staffed by Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters of Mercy ran Loretto Sacred Heart School for 87 years until 1994 when Catholic lay faculty took over.
The Sisters of Mercy’s influence extends statewide. Since coming to Tennessee in 1866, the sisters have ministered in schools in the cities of Alcoa, Columbia, Dayton, Elizabethton, Jackson, Johnson City, Kingsport, Knoxville, Lawrenceburg, Loretto, Memphis, Nashville, Springfield, and Whitehaven.
The Sisters of Mercy’s impact is global. In 1991, they founded the Sisters of the Americas, with more than 3,000 Sisters ministering in 12 countries in North, Central and South America. Their mission is built on the four core values of spirituality, community, service and social justice.
Today, most Sisters of Mercy live at the Mercy Convent off of Pennington Bend Road in Nashville. In addition to serving as a living quarters for the Sisters of Mercy, the convent also serves as a location for spiritual retreats for schools and organizations looking for spiritual direction.
For more information on the Sisters of Mercy, their history and the 150th anniversary activities, email celebration@mercysc.org.
