Sisters of Mercy install new leader for Northeast regional community
CUMBERLAND – The Sisters of Mercy installed Sister Maureen Mitchell, RSM, a New Bedford, Mass., native, and longtime Rhode Island resident, as the Northeast Community’s new president on Saturday, June 23, in a ceremony rich in prayer, blessing and song at the University of Saint Joseph’s Connor Chapel in West Hartford, Conn.
Other sisters installed to leadership include Sister Peg Sullivan, RSM, vice president; Sister Ruth Kelly, RSM, team member; and Sister Patty Moriarty, RSM, team member.
A passion for service, which the Sisters of Mercy call their fourth vow, infused the installation ritual, as did the sisters’ mission of working for change on behalf of women, immigrants and the climate, and seeking an end to racism and violence.
In her reflections at the Installation to over 150 Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Associates, and Companions in Mercy, as well as family members, friends and supporters, Sister Maureen pointed out that the words of Catherine McAuley, the order’s founder, are as alive today as they were when first spoken.
The Northeast Community leadership team’s term of service begins on July 1 in Cumberland.
Sister Maureen Mitchell, RSM, recently served as Northeast Community vice president.
After accepting the nomination as president, she noted, “I feel the inner call from the Spirit, that Community leadership is where I can best use my gifts and talents at this pointof my ministry, and I have heard the call of the Community, which is strong.”
Before entering Community leadership, Sister Maureen ministered for over a quarter-century as a clinical pastoral education (CPE) supervisor — most recently for the VA New York Harbor Health Care System, where she taught seminarians and military chaplains how to spiritually accompany veterans.
She also served for many years as a chaplain for Home and Hospice Care of Rhode Island ( now Hope Hospice & Palliative Care Rhode Island), and minis- tered as principal and teacher at the former Nazareth Hall schools in Attleboro and Fall River.
A former member of the Medicine and Spirituality Committee at Brown University School of Medicine, Sister Maureen has also served on numerous other committees in hospitals and hospice settings, as well as on certification committees for chaplains and clinical pastoral education (CPE) supervisors.
Sister Maureen earned her certification as a clinical pastoral education (CPE) supervisor through the Association of Clinical Pasto- ral Education (ACPE).
Her DMin degree is from Andover Newton Theological School. She holds an MA from the University of Connecticut and a BA from Salve Regina University. Sister Maureen is also a graduate of New Bedford’s former Holy Family High School.
The Sisters of Mercy have been in the Providence area since 1851, founding numerous local institutions, including Salve Regina University, St. Mary Academy – Bay View, McAuley Ministries, Mercy mount Country Day School and Mercy Ecology.
The Northeast Community, comprised of over 500 Sisters of Mercy, 400 Mercy Associates and two Companions in Mercy, serves in New England and Albany, N.Y., in ministries related to education, social services, and pastoral care. The Northeast Community’s administrative office is in Cumberland.
The Sisters of Mercy — an international community of Roman Catholic women — dedicate their lives to God through vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and service.
For more than 180 years, motivated by the Gospel of Jesus and inspired by the spirit of their founder Catherine McAuley, the Sisters of Mercy have responded to the continually changing needs of the times.
Through prayer and service, the sisters address the causes and effects of violence, racism, degradation of Earth and injustice to women and immigrants. The sisters sponsor and serve in more than 200 organizations that work with those in need in the United States,
Central and South America, Jamaica, Guam and the Philippines. Learn more about the Sisters of Mercy at sistersofmercy.org.