Wrapped in God’s Love:
Celebrating Mercy Day 2025
Every year on September 24, the global Mercy family—students, sisters, educators, and friends—comes together to celebrate Mercy Day, remembering the opening of the first House of Mercy on Baggot Street in 1827.
The 2025 Mercy Day theme, The Cloak of Mercy: From Many Homes, One Mercy Family – Wrapped in God’s Love, invites us to see how God’s mercy unites and shelters us, and how we, in turn, extend that same compassion to others.
This year’s theme honored the many cultures, languages, and stories that make up our Mercy family and lifted up the Critical Concern for immigration, calling us to see migrants, refugees, and displaced persons not as strangers, but as beloved members of God’s family.
To capture that spirit, our schools shared photos and reflections from their Mercy Day celebrations around the globe: joyful moments of prayer, service, creativity, and community. This issue beautifully reflects how Mercy schools extend the cloak of God’s love in their own unique ways.
Enjoy this look at Mercy in action!
Mount St. Mary Academy
Little Rock, Arkansas
Nearly 600 Mount St. Mary Academy students, faculty and staff spent the morning of September 24 united in service in honor of Mercy Day. Many poured their energy into meaningful projects on campus, such as making cards for the elderly or knitting hats and blankets for the unsheltered, while others were able to share their gifts of service in the wider Little Rock community by helping with various tasks at more than 20 churches, schools and organizations that serve those in need.
Overall, the Mount community contributed more than 1,000 hours of volunteer work while carrying on the legacy of Catherine McAuley and her call to serve with love and compassion.
St. Vincent's Academy
Savannah, Georgia
St. Vincent's Academy Seniors did an amazing job working on their service project, helping facilitate a job fair for homeless veterans hosted by the Salvation Army. The event had a great response with over 600 attendees and the girls were a huge help. The sophomore class participated in a grade level service project at PACK Savannah! They successfully packed 1,386 bags of food to be sent out to children in need in the Savannah community.
Saint Catherine Academy
Belize City, Belize
Saint Catherine Academy celebrated Mercy Day 2025 with a blessed and inspiring mass, attended by the Sisters of Mercy, invited guests, faculty, staff and students. Owing to the theme, there was a special “Cloak of Mercy” procession this year. Cloaks were designed by students as a means of expressing how the theme resonates with them. Students were dressed in their cultural attires as symbols of diversity in our Mercy community.
Merion Mercy Academy
Merion Station, Pennsylvania
For Mercy Day, we had the privilege of welcoming Sister Mary Scullion, RSM, co-founder of Project H.O.M.E., whose ministry with the unsheltered in Philadelphia continues Catherine’s legacy in our own time. Sister Mary shared how the spirit of Mercy calls us to kinship with those who are poor, sick, uneducated, and with creation itself. As she so beautifully put it:
“Welcoming the spirit of Mercy means creating a home that embraces each person in a way that affirms their fullness and dignity.”
Santa Barbara Catholic School
Dededo, Guam
Our gifted Art teacher created a powerful and eye-catching bulletin board display to bring the Mercy Month theme to life, "The Cloak of Mercy." Through creativity and meaningful design, the display invites students and staff to reflect on the message of mercy and challenges us to live it out in our daily lives. It has become not just a decoration, but a visual reminder of the work we are called to do as we continue to live Mercy as a school community.
In honor of Mercy Month, our 5th graders partnered with 2nd graders to share the story Kitty’s Tea Party, which highlights the life and legacy of Catherine McAuley. Through this meaningful encounter, students came to know Catherine as a woman of deep faith and boundless compassion. Inspired by her example, they reflected on how they, too, can carry forward her mission of mercy in their own lives.
Walsingham Academy
Williamsburg, Virginia
Our Mercy Day Mass celebrates the enduring mission of the Sisters of Mercy around the world—and right here at Walsingham, as we also honor our own beloved Sister Mary Jeanne.
At the conclusion of Mass, our senior class receives their official Mercy pins, proudly symbolizing their place in the Mercy legacy. Following this meaningful moment, seniors are paired with our kindergarten students for a beautiful butterfly release, symbolizing the spread of mercy into the world.
Mercy High School
Farmington Hills, Michigan
We celebrated Mercy Day with a beautiful all-school Mass, where our new student leaders were blessed and commissioned to serve with compassion and faith. In honor of Mercy Day, all students participated in the Community Connections Fair, engaging with inspiring non-profit organizations to explore service opportunities, volunteer projects, and meaningful ways to make a difference.
St. Catharine Academy
Bronx, New York
On September 24th, our community came together to celebrate Mercy Day with a Mass led by Father Jorge Ramirez, Sch.P., Pastor of St. Helena’s Parish. During the Prayer of the Faithful, intentions were shared in English, Creole, Arabic, Spanish, Vietnamese, Albanian, Portuguese, and French, reflecting the richness and diversity of our community.
We were also honored to welcome special guests: Kelly Muskopf, ASL Interpreter; Taylor McCaffrey, Orientation and Mobility Specialist at Helen Keller National Center for the Deaf-Blind; and Dr. Xellex Rivera, Chief Program Officer at Housing Solutions of New York. Each spoke to our students about their career journeys and the meaningful ways they serve others, inspiring us all to carry forward the spirit of mercy in our daily lives. As our high school students reflected on the ways in which their chosen career path can intersect with the Mercy charism, our Middle School students put service into action-writing Mercy Day cards to retired Sisters of Mercy who live in convents in our area.
Mercy Heights Catholic Nursery & Kindergarten
Tamuning, Guam
Mercy Heights celebrated Mercy Day with a prayer service, storytelling about Catherine McAuley, and activities that highlighted this year’s theme, The Cloak of Mercy. Students and families joined the Sisters of Mercy in acts of gratitude, including presenting a symbolic gift, creating Kindness Posters, and caring for the Earth through a campus clean-up. The celebration also honored the Critical Concern of Nonviolence with the presentation of the Catherine McAuley Scholarship to eight deserving students, fostering hope, compassion, and unity in our Mercy community.
Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School
Chicago, Illinois
In the spirit of this year’s theme, the Mother McAuley community united in service. Guided by the Sisters of Mercy’s Critical Concerns—especially upholding human dignity and supporting immigrants—students, faculty and staff made tie-blankets that were donated to local organizations helping immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall
Milford, Connecticut
Throughout September, Lauralton Hall religion classes worked together to create no-sew blankets as a heartfelt act of service and compassion. On Mercy Day, these blankets surrounded the altar, where they were blessed by our school community before being donated to IRIS, a New Haven–based organization that supports refugees and immigrants. Each blanket is a symbol of mercy—offering warmth, comfort, and a message of welcome to families beginning new lives.
Colegio Santa Ethnea
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Under the motto "Embraced by the Mantle of Mercy," the entire community was involved in various activities: students and families, alumni, the Spirituality Center, and the school staff.
We began with the celebration of Mass; we held a mission to the nearby vulnerable neighborhoods with elementary and secondary school students, and workshops with kindergarten and elementary school children. The entire community prepared squares of fabric that formed a large Mantle of Mercy. Together with the Spirituality Center, we had been preparing our program for some time holding meetings, prayers, and a podcast about Catherine's life. We celebrated the life of the Sisters of Mercy in our community. It was a true celebration!
Mercy McAuley High School
Cincinnati, Ohio
On Mercy Day, our students worked on assembling an art installation of our own Cloak of Mercy. They reflected on certain questions (such as "Who would you wrap in God's mercy today?" or "How does Mercy McAuley wrap people in mercy?") They wrote answers to these questions on a piece of fabric; all of these fabric pieces will be put together in an art installation in the school. After the activity, students demonstrated the importance of wrapping others in mercy and compassion by performing various acts of service to others - such as making sandwiches for an area soup kitchen.
Assumption High School
Louisville, Kentucky
We celebrated Mercy Day with a prayer service which was packed with Mercy spirit! We heard from campus ministry about the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy, shared who our Models of Mercy are, and even had a special guest speaker, Catherine McAuley herself (our amazing Public Speaking teacher, Paula Spugnardi)!
We also celebrated a Critical Concern for each day of the week with various programming for each one including: petition signings, standing on the corner to welcome immigrants/refugees, pledges, and more.
Infant of Prague Catholic Nursery and Kindergarten
Mangilao, Guam
This school year, our Mercy Day Service Project centered around the theme “The Cloak of Mercy,” inspired by the Sisters of Mercy Critical Concerns. To reflect this theme, each class created a poster and write up based on the letters of the word “Mercy” highlighting the values of compassion, justice and service as emphasized by the Sisters of Mercy. Our staff generously prepared egg and tuna sandwiches with chips and bottled water for our homeless brothers and sisters. The Kindergarten Class carefully packed these meals, getting them ready for delivery to those living on the streets of Agana, Paseo, Anique, Maite and Tamuning.
School of Saint John the Baptist of Jimenez, Misamis Occidental, Inc.
Nacional Jimenez, Misamis Occidental
During our Mercy Day celebration, Saint John the Baptist School embraced this year’s theme by coming together as one family of faith and compassion.
Through the distribution of 90 relief packs to families in Matugas Alto, Jimenez, Misamis Occidental, we were reminded that mercy is not only shared from many homes, but also woven into one loving community, truly wrapped in God’s love.
Bishop Feehan High School
Attleboro, Massachusetts
We came together as a Feehan Family to celebrate mass for the first time this school year. As we prayed and reflected, we remembered the opening of the first House of Mercy on Baggot Street in Dublin, Ireland, in 1827, a moment that began a legacy of faith and service that continues to guide us today.
Mercyhurst Preparatory School
Erie, Pennsylvania
Our Mercy Day of Service sends students out into the community to serve at various non-profits. We partner with over 15 organizations such as Inter Coastal Cleanup, Mercy Center for Women, House of Mercy, Salvation Army, and many more. It is a great way for our students to connect with the community.
Sisters of Mercy of Jamaica
Mercy Day was celebrated by a number of Jamaican Mercy schools! At St. John Bosco Vocational Training Centre, students watched the "In God Alone” film on Catherine McAuley and also wrote cards which listed ways in which Mercy is shown to others. They placed these cards on trees, with each tree symbolizing the Cloak of Mercy.
Other schools celebrated throughout the week, with Alpha Academy receiving inspiring talks from Father Kingsley-Asphall and a distinguished past student, and Alpha Infant launching its own Mercy Circle Club, a group which will focus on promoting and exemplifying the Mercy mission and the work of Catherine.
Furthermore, Jessie Ripoll Primary School held a special mass and road march to celebrate Mercy Week as well as the school’s 46th anniversary.
Mercy Montessori Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mercy Montessori celebrated Mercy Day with an all-school photo, a reflective prayer service, and acts of service, including donations to Mercy Neighborhood Ministries and our Little Pantry. In October, each classroom will decorate a cloak with messages of welcome, peace, and prayer.
These cloaks will serve as a yearlong reminder to wrap others in God’s Mercy.
Waldron Mercy Academy
Merion Station, Pennsylvania
The WMA community gathered together for our Mercy Day prayer service, joined by Mercy Associates and Sisters of Mercy to celebrate this special day!
Afterwards, students gathered outside with their Big/Little buddies to participate in our annual Walkathon. This event raises funds to purchase ingredients for meals that students in grades 3-8 will pack on Halloween in collaboration with Kids Against Hunger in Broomall.
Notre Dame High School
Elmira, New York
In partnership with Chemung County Department of Aging and Long Term Care, our sophomore class kicked off our Mercy Week of Service with an Intergenerational Day of Play in the John T. Gough Gymnasium. There were many smiles and much laughter as our students and guests played games, shared stories and enjoyed lunch together.
The content of this publication is submitted by our Mercy schools. Thank you to all who contributed!