More than 550 Mount St. Mary Academy students, faculty and staff spent the morning of September 24 volunteering at nearly 30 locations across central Arkansas in honor of Mercy Day. Around the world, Mercy Day is celebrated to commemorate the day Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, opened the first House of Mercy in Ireland in 1827 to serve the sick and poor.
In the spirit of Catherine McAuley, and as a sponsored ministry of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Mount honors this important anniversary each year by completing acts of service on its campus, in its surrounding neighborhood and throughout the Little Rock area. This year’s Mercy Day activities included cleaning and picking up trash, preparing meals, sorting clothing, and helping with various additional tasks at churches, schools and organizations that serve those in need. Overall, the school community contributed approximately 850 hours of volunteer work on September 24.
As a special addition to this year’s Mercy Day, Mount also hosted a Golden Jubilee celebration for Sr. Deborah Troillett ’73 that honored the beloved alumna’s 50th anniversary of entering the Sisters of Mercy in 1974. After completing their service, all students, faculty and staff gathered back on campus in the McAuley Center for the school’s annual Mercy Day Mass, during which Sr. Deborah renewed her religious vows and pledged to continue to provide faithful service in the tradition of Catherine McAuley. A reception celebrating the milestone anniversary was held in the gym immediately after the Mass. Sr. Deborah worked at the school for 22 years, including 14 years as president from 1997-2011.
“Today is a special day not only because it marks Mercy Day, but also because we are blessed to celebrate the 50th Jubilee of Sr. Deborah Troillett, who has dedicated five decades of her life to living out the charism of mercy,” Head of School Sara Jones acknowledged in her welcome to attendees. “We are deeply grateful for her selfless service, her unwavering faith and the countless ways she has touched the lives of so many through her ministry.”
In addition to Bishop Anthony Taylor, who presided over the Mercy Day Mass, Mount was honored to have seven other Sisters of Mercy in attendance who also renewed their vows during the celebration: Sr. Lisa Atkins, Sr. Anita DeSalvo ’65, Sr. Lisa Griffith, Sr. Rebecca Hendricks, Sr. Jane Hotstream, Sr. Deborah Kern and Sr. Judith Keith ’51.
Visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MountStMaryLR to view images of our students, faculty and staff serving throughout our community in honor of Mercy Day. You can find images from the Mercy Day Mass on our Flickr site at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBK3Xc.
