1996
Citation:
Through wisdom and foresight, the Sisters of Mercy and the Society of Jesus have made a tremendous impact on Catholic higher education in the City of Detroit. In 1877, the Jesuits founded the University of Detroit and in 1941, the Sisters of Mercy founded Mercy College of Detroit. Decades later, these two religious communities joined their individual talents and traditions in a unique partnership to form the University of Detroit Mercy. This year, on behalf of the University of Detroit Mercy, the President’s Cabinet is pleased to recognize the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Regional Community of Detroit and the Society of Jesus, Detroit Province with the President’s Cabinet Medallion for their collaborative sponsorship of the University of Detroit Mercy.
The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Regional Community of Detroit
Based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Regional Community of Detroit has a long history of service to the sick and needy dating back to 1831, when the religious order was founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland. In 1843, Sister Mary Frances Warde, with six other Sisters of Mercy, traveled to the United States to establish a Mercy congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The U.S. congregation was later headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and included foundations in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Iowa. As the congregation grew, the Cincinnati Province separated into two entities; in 1940, the Province of Detroit was established to assume the Michigan, Indiana and Iowa foundations.
Mother Mary Carmelita Manning was appointed the Mother Provincial in Detroit. In deciding where to build the new provincial house, novitiate and college, she chose a 40-acre plot of land on West Outer Drive in northwest Detroit. This site became the location of the Province’s Motherhouse, until its move to Farmington Hills in 1965, and the future site of Mercy College of Detroit. Mercy College opened its doors in 1941 to prepare nurses and elementary and secondary education teachers fro Mercy hospitals and schools. Mother Mary Carmelita quickly saw the need, however, for a larger, degree-granting institution and expanded Mercy College into a licensed, accredited liberal arts college.
Today, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas include 7,000 members, 312 of whom are members of the Regional Community of Detroit. Continuing their mission of justice, human dignity, service and options for the poor, the Sisters of Mercy maintain their focus on education, health care and social services as they work in schools and colleges, hospitals, parishes and homes for the aged. Sisters can also be found ministering through their service to such humanitarian organizations as the Peace Corps and Groundwork For a Just Society.
Award was presented at the Twenty-Ninth Annual President's Cabinet Dinner, October 11, 1996.