Sisters of Mercy, Mercyhurst University: Throughout time, there for each other
For nearly 100 years, the Sisters of Mercy and the Mercyhurst University community have thrived in symbiotic association, there for each other through life’s many changes and challenges. The Sisters founded Mercyhurst in 1926 and, for many years, not only assumed its leadership, but stafed its classrooms and ofces, guiding it into an era of growth and prosperity. By 2016, only two Sisters worked at the university full time, and by 2018, there remained just fve Sisters serving as part-time staf, prompting the university to establish new initiatives to ensure the Sisters’ legacy remained a guiding force. Now, an imposing reality has drawn them together again. Like most groups of women religious in the United States, the Sisters of Mercy are experiencing a decline in numbers as their members age. As a result, the Mercy Motherhouse, just up the hill from the university at 444 East Grandview Boulevard, is underutilized. At one time, the Motherhouse housed 68 Sisters; now there are 17 in residence.
Mercyhurst University, meanwhile, is experiencing the inverse, needing more space to accommodate academic initiatives. Realizing that this day might come, Mercyhurst and the Sisters entered into a formal agreement four years ago to establish a path forward for the university’s future purchase of the Motherhouse building. Following the university’s Board of Trustees meeting in February 2021, steps were taken to move ahead on its option to buy the Motherhouse and allocate funds for renovations. The renovations are consistent with the university’s announcement in 2019 that, in consolidating with its North East campus, it would make a multimillion-dollar investment in facilities upgrades on its Erie campus, particularly in the form of high-tech labs and classrooms for its expansive health care programming. Many of those upgrades are designated for the Motherhouse, where renovations began last spring and will continue until year’s end so they are ready for students in January 2022.
Presently, the university is operating under a short-term lease arrangement with the Sisters until a formal sale can be completed. Mercyhurst already leases some residential space at the Motherhouse; 18 students were living there at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. “Committed to good stewardship of buildings and property and recognizing that unoccupied space is available in the Motherhouse, the Sisters in Erie are grateful that Mercyhurst University will share portions of this facility,” said Sister Patricia Whalen, RSM, Leadership Team, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, New York Pennsylvania West Community. “The university is a beloved educational ministry. Sharing university programs in this building is not only a natural ft, but also will beneft both groups.” In shaping the transition, two ministries that had been housed at the Motherhouse — the Mercy Center of the Arts and Mercy Hilltop Center — have relocated to other locations. Mercy Terrace Apartments will remain on site.
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