Our History

It all began in Dublin, Ireland with Catherine McAuley. The year was 1831. A time of changes. A time to bring to life the vision of one of history’s most remarkable women.

By founding the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley extended the Catholic Church’s ministries of healing and teaching to the poor, sick, and uneducated. She shared her vision with other women who embraced her commitment, and, together created one of the largest congregations of women religious ever established in the English speaking world. A religious community that brought the disadvantaged in Dublin…and later, the world…the incomparable qualities and compassion of Mercy.

The Catherine McAuley Center in Northeastern Pennsylvania

The success of the Catherine McAuley Center in Northeastern Pennsylvania is due in no small measure to the vision of its founder — Anne Payne, RSM, now retired, who became aware of the crisis in housing for women and children in 1979. By 1983 Sister Anne and two other Sisters of Mercy, Sister Dorothy McLaughlin and Sister Elizabeth Brandreth, had created an environment in which to assist women with housing in the Scranton area.

The first step began with the Sisters moving into the former St. Joseph Lithuanian Convent in North Scranton where they shared their extra bedrooms with women in need of shelter. From the small beginning on September 1, 1984, when the Sisters accepted their first guest, a whole new ministry developed in Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. It was incorporated in 1985 and is a sponsored work of the Sisters of Mercy of the Dallas Regional Community.

Today, the vision of Mercy is still alive in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Here, “Houses of Mercy” are still havens for homeless women and their children…still lifelines for those in need — a vital resource for the community. The Catherine McAuley Center is all of these and more. Since the beginning in 1984, the Center has undergone dramatic growth. Yet, its commitment to caring for women and children remains as strong as ever.

Facility locations now include Wilkes-Barre, Scranton’s Hill Section, North Scranton, South Scranton, Green Ridge, West Scranton, and the Bellevue Section of Lackawanna County. The Catherine McAuley House, a transitional living facility, is located in Plymouth, PA.