The History of Mercy Center Auburn

The Sisters of Mercy

The Sisters of Mercy trace their world-wide roots to their founder, Catherine McAuley; an Irish Catholic laywoman.

Catherine recognized the many needs of people who were economically poor in early nineteenth-century Ireland and determined that she and women like her could make a difference.

Spending her inheritance, she opened the first House of Mercy on Lower Baggot Street in Dublin, Ireland, on September 24, 1827, as a place to shelter and educate women and girls. Catherine’s original intention was to assemble a lay corps of Catholic social workers. Impressed by her good works and the importance of continuity in the ministry, the Archbishop of Dublin advised her to establish a religious congregation. Three years later, on December 12, 1831, Catherine and two companions became the first Sisters of Mercy.

The first Sisters of Mercy arrived in the United States from Ireland in 1843 at the invitation of the Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their energy in ministering to the sick and economically poor attracted so many new members that by 1854, sisters had come from Ireland to settle in New York City; Chicago, Illinois; Little Rock, Arkansas; and San Francisco, California, spreading across the country and establishing schools and hospitals. Since then, the works of Mercy have expanded to embrace education, health care and pastoral and social services in hundreds of sites today.

Mercy Center Auburn

 When the Sisters of Mercy opened Marian Hall in Auburn, CA, in 1967, they had no idea that it would become a spiritual haven and center of renewal for persons of all faiths. It was built to be a novitiate. Right after its dedication, vocations diminished and young sisters never moved into the vacant building.

The Hall was initially used for a variety of services, including a residence during retreats until Sr. Mary Teresita Durkin had a vision of what could be. She imagined Marian Hall as a center and resource for spiritual formation, retreats and days of prayer for people of faith. She began by inviting William Peter, S.J., who came to Auburn to provide a spiritual formation training program for religious leaders. The two-month program was steeped in the tradition of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. By 1977, over 150 sisters from all over the world had participated.

Over the next fifteen years, Marian Hall offered programs for spiritual renewal, diocesan Lay Ministry Formation, extended retreats for women religious, and a variety of retreats for faith communities who found in the center a spiritual home.

Sr. Mary Teresita and Sr. Mary Loyola MacDonald were instrumental in bringing together a team of teachers to design and facilitate spiritual enrichment programs. Among the presenters were Mercy Sisters Joan Marie Fagerskog, Maura Power and Katherine Doyle; and Fathers T. Brendan O’Sullivan, Dan Looney and Vincent O’Reilly.