The Sisters of Mercy

The Institute of the Misericordia Sisters was founded by a woman of daring and hope, Rosalie Cadron-Jetté. Her faith, her confidence, her charisma and her humility allowed her to conquer the hearts of the people around her. In spite of the difficulties and sufferings related to this work rejected by society, this woman gave her life to others and was attached to her mission:

“To live the mercy of Jesus the Savior with girls and women in situations of motherhood out of wedlock and their children and, again, with mothers living with difficulty in their motherhood.”

Const. Art. 3

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Sisters of Mercy of Montreal - 1848

History and Mission

The Institute of the Misericordia Sisters has its headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. It was founded in this city in 1848 by Mrs. Rosalie Cadron-Jetté. She is a local woman, born in Lavaltrie in 1794, married at 17 and mother of eleven children, six of whom reached adulthood. Widowed at the age of thirty-eight, while living with her family in Montreal, she devoted herself especially to helping the single mother who was rejected by society. At the request of her bishop, Ignace Bourget, she founded the community to perpetuate the work.

The name “Sisters of Mercy”, received from Bishop Bourget, expresses in itself the community charism of the Congregation. He identifies his own spirituality and traces the line of force of his apostolic action.

Extension of the Mission

Since its foundation, the Institute has gradually developed, expanding its services to Canada and the United States, then to Cameroon, Africa and now to Ecuador, Latin America.

Rosalie Cadron-Jetté inspired her successors to take up the challenge of founding the said Institute.

The Misericordia Sisters ran residences for single mothers and their children, maternity hospitals open to all women, and general hospitals. From the 1970s onwards, they gradually withdrew from the hospital and foster care field, leaving only day care centers.

Interventions

Because of their particular ministry, the Sisters of Mercy are committed to a society where even today, women heads of single-parent families feel disadvantaged. These women often live on the margins of the community and struggle to provide for themselves and their children. On this difficult path, support services are offered to help these women regain their autonomy by rediscovering their strengths and rebuilding their confidence in themselves and in others.

This accompaniment is lived in authenticity by a listening and a benevolent reception. Today, the Sisters are still present on the Board of Directors of La Petite Maison de la Miséricorde in Montreal and at the Carrefour de la Miséricorde in Gatineau. In addition, they retain the direction of the Centre d’Accompagnement Éducatif in Montreal.

The Sisters of Mercy working with lay people who extend the mission through their actions in the same concern for love, compassion and justice form a great spiritual and apostolic Family: “The International Misericordia Family.

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