Sisters of Mercy
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Frances Ward and six companions from Carlow, Ireland, opened the first Mercy convent in the U.S. here. Founding date was December 21, 1843, and at once the sisters began to serve the city's poor, sick, and uneducated. From here, Mercy convents spread across the U.S.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In December 1843, Frances Ward and six fellow Sisters of Mercy arrived from Carlow, Ireland, and opened the first convent of their order in the United States on this Pittsburgh ground. In a growing industrial city crowded with poor and immigrant families, the sisters set to work at once teaching, nursing the sick, and caring for the destitute. From this modest beginning, Mercy convents and their schools and hospitals spread across the nation.
Why it matters
It marks the American launch of a Catholic sisterhood whose schools and hospitals shaped education, health care, and social welfare for generations of immigrants and the poor.
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Related people
- · Frances Ward
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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