The history of the Sisters of Mercy of Pittsburgh is a history of courageous, pioneering firsts. Their foundress, Mother Frances Warde, was the first Sister of Mercy to be professed by Mother Catherine McAuley, who founded the community in Dublin, Ireland in 1831. Their foundation was the first Mercy Convent in the United States of America, and the first community of women religious to settle permanently in Western Pennsylvania.

In 1847, the Sisters of Mercy of Pittsburgh founded the first permanent hospital in Western Pennsylvania and the first Mercy Hospital in the world. Pittsburgh’s industrious river traffic provided the hospital with many of its first patients. The first American-born Sister of Mercy, Sister Xavier Tiernan, died in 1848, after having nursed victims of the typhoid epidemic that swept the city that year. Hers was a selfless example of service that hundreds of Sisters of Mercy would imitate, as Mercy Hospital became known as a place where all were welcomed by the Sisters—regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion, or socio-economic status. The hospital also earned its reputation as a landmark for excellence and quality health care in Pittsburgh.

The Sisters of Mercy of Pittsburgh carried their ministry of service to soldiers in the Civil War, nursing soldiers of both sides of the conflict, for which they earned the grateful thanks of President Abraham Lincoln. Mercy Hospital grew rapidly along with Pittsburgh in the second half of the nineteenth century. Expanded facilities, new departments, a full-time medical staff, the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing (1893) and more became reality. To qualify for new funding sources, the hospital was incorporated, a distinguished board was established, and Thomas M. Carnegie was elected its president.

Through providing care for patients from the steel mills, the hospital became known as a region’s premier, specialized center for handling trauma surgery and burns, long before it became accredited as a Level I Regional Resource Trauma Center and a comprehensive burn center.

For more than 160 years the Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy have lived out their fourth vow of service to the poor, sick, and uneducated through service at Mercy Hospital. This fourth vow was the keystone of the lives of women like Sister Mary Ferdinand Clark, administrator from 1953 to 1978. She oversaw the revitalization of Mercy Hospital, the building of new facilities, and a deepened sense of commitment to service to the urban poor in the neighborhoods surrounding Mercy’s Uptown campus.

In 1991 the Sisters of Mercy of Pittsburgh joined the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Today they are part of the New York-Pennsylvania-Pacific West Community.

Mercy’s rich and enduring mission continues to be fulfilled today. On January 1, 2008, the hospital, the region’s largest and Pittsburgh’s only remaining Catholic hospital, became part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), thereby becoming UPMC Mercy. The hospital retains its Catholic identity under the canonical oversight of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, as well as its adherence to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care.

The faith-based values of the hospital’s pioneering founders, the Sisters of Mercy, remain evident at the hospital today. Sisters of Mercy, as well as women from other religious congregations, continue to work, serve, or volunteer at the hospital. UPMC Mercy’s 2,300+ employees proudly carry forth the Sisters’ tradition of providing excellence and compassionate care to their patients, and resolve to do so for generations to come. Mercy’s rich and enduring mission continues to be fulfilled today. On January 1, 2008, the hospital, the region’s largest and Pittsburgh’s only remaining Catholic hospital, became part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), thereby becoming UPMC Mercy. The hospital retains its Catholic identity under the canonical oversight of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, as well as its adherence to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care.

The faith-based values of the hospital’s pioneering founders, the Sisters of Mercy, remain evident at the hospital today. Sisters of Mercy, as well as women from other religious congregations, continue to work, serve, or volunteer at the hospital. UPMC Mercy’s 2,300+ employees proudly carry forth the Sisters’ tradition of providing excellence and compassionate care to their patients, and resolve to do so for generations to come.

Although hospital-based properties and services now belong to UPMC, Pittsburgh Mercy Health System retains community-based services. In the spirit of the early sisters, who first rendered healthcare to Pittsburghers in their homes or who cared for the wounded on both sides in Civil War battlefields, today’s Pittsburgh Mercy Health System incorporates programs and services that reach into surrounding neighborhoods and respond to unmet needs. Mercy Behavioral Health has more than 60 locations throughout Allegheny County. Operation SafetyNet is an internationally acclaimed street medicine practice that takes healthcare to unsheltered homeless people. Parish Nurses provide service through local churches. Mercy Foundation and McAuley Ministries each has a role in supporting various ministries. St. Pius X Residence houses seniors, and Mercy collaborates with Lutheran Services in sponsoring LIFE Pittsburgh to provide services to elderly people who are aging in place. Sisters of Mercy healthcare today, mirroring its founding spirit, meets vital needs throughout Western Pennsylvania!

For additional information on the Sisters of Mercy of Pittsburgh, please visit their homepage by clicking here.