Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy
DAUGHTERS OF OUR LADY OF MERCY
(DM, Official Catholic Directory #0890), a pontifical institute founded in Savona, Italy, in 1837 by (Saint) Maria Giuseppa rossello. The congregation began at the request of the bishop of Savona, Agostino De Mari. The foundress, herself of a poor family, answered his plea for help in the education of youth, especially the under-privileged. The congregation soon spread through northern Italy. In 1875 it extended to South America when the sisters were invited to take care of cholera victims in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1919 the sisters came to the United States to open a school and parish center in Springfield, Massachusetts. Later they accepted work in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They expanded their work to include hospice, healthcare, parochial ministries, and education on the preschool, elementary and high school levels. The generalate is in Rome; the United States provincialate is in Newfield, New Jersey.
[k. burton/eds.]