by Camille D'Arienzo
NCR Contributor
Kathy Schiro
Who is she: Director of Mercy Associates, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Mid-Atlantic Community
Sr. Camille: When, in 1827, Catherine McAuley, an unmarried Irish woman, decided use her inheritance to care for people suffering from poverty, sickness and lack of education, other women quickly decided to join her. They chose a form of communal living, nourished by prayer and good works. In a few years, convents modeled on Catherine’s flourished in Ireland and beyond. Bishops invited these sisters to come to the United States to exercise their well-respected ministries here.
While Catherine's model was sustained by vowed women religious, women and men who are committed to another state of life also made known their desire to share various aspects of Mercy life and ministry. They were organized according to guidelines and policies developed by the community and were called associates.
And this association is what, in part, defines you.
Schiro: Thank you for saying that, Sr. Camille. My goal as director of the Mercy Associates is to live every day of my life following the core values of the Sisters of Mercy, since I learned what they are by signing my covenant back in 1995. It's my belief that the women who worked in the House of Mercy with Catherine in the very beginning were her associates, and that makes me feel even closer to her, our foundress.