Today was the first day of the Young Mercy Leaders Pilgrimage located at Mercy Centre International. Mercy Centre was previously Catherine McCauleys home where she took in women and children in need of housing and education. Now it is a center dedicated to mercy hospitality, heritage, and pilgrimage.
We started with opening prayer and hymns and then moved onto a tour of the center. We got to see the original chapel Catherine had built and learn about her dedication to prayer and alone time with God. Then we went into rooms such as the infirmary, office and first classroom. The tour ended with a tour of the garden where she was laid to rest after passing away.
Lastly, we listened to a sister speak on Catherine’s leadership style. Although she was a leader, she was not a dictator. She remained humble as she led the sisters. We got to read some of her letters and she described how she does not wish to “pull the strings too tight” , meaning she is not a stickler for harsh rules and regulations if it means disregarding showing mercy to someone. We are excited to widen our knowledge of what it means to be a mercy leader and bring back what we learn to Georgian Court to spread mercy across campus and our surrounding community.