After more than 155 years of ministry, the Sisters of Mercy are leaving the Archdiocese of Louisville.
“There’s a beginning and an end to everything,” said Sister Paulanne Diebold.
“We just happened to be the end,” said Sister Justina Heneghan. “So often the end isn’t associated with good.”
But Sisters Diebold and Heneghan, the last remaining Sisters of Mercy in the Archdiocese of Louisville, said they do feel good about wrapping up their ministry.
“You just put your whole heart and soul into it. Each has been a marvelous adventure, truly.”
— Sister of Mercy Paulanne Diebold
“It’s right. … We’re celebrating the years we’ve been here,” said Sister Heneghan in a recent interview at the home they share in Louisville. “There’s this feeling of ‘well done, good and faithful servant,’ meaning the congregation.”
The sisters will begin their move to the McCauley Convent in Cincinnati, the first week of September. There, Sister Heneghan — who’s in her 70th year of religious life — will continue her retirement, she said. Sister Diebold, who’s been a Mercy Sister for 62 years, will continue serving her congregation as a Sister Life Minister.
Sister Diebold described her ministry as “boots on the ground,” explaining, “It’s being there for whatever needs the sisters might have.”
Sitting in their comfortable home on a bright August morning, the sisters laughed as they reflected on their long service in the archdiocese.
“We’re standing on the shoulders of those who came before us,” said Sister Diebold. “I picture all the sisters I’ve lived and served with.”
“All the ones we’ve heard of. Those whose lives have been touched by the Sisters of Mercy are standing on the shoulders, too,” said Sister Heneghan.
The sisters said they think of their ministry here as a “quiet presence” that conveyed respect, love and care, they said. Their work has been about “just reaching out and doing what needed to be done,” said Sister Diebold.
She recalled a mother of six children whose husband had abandoned the family. The sisters stepped in and helped that mother care for her children. That woman is 90 years old now and she still talks about what the sisters’ help meant to her, said Sister Diebold. There are many similar stories, the sisters noted.
“Catherine McCauley (the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy) didn’t try to change people before she served them,” said Sister Diebold. “Generally, that can be said of our community. You were cared for as you were and respected as you were.”
The Sisters of Mercy came to Louisville in 1869 to care for wounded servicemen at the U.S. Marine Hospital in the Portland neighborhood. It wasn’t long before they were serving in a variety of ministries — preschool, elementary, high school and college education, special education, hospital ministry, child care, housing ministry, archdiocesan agency ministry, parish ministry, jail ministry, social services and religious formation.
“It’s been a blessing,” said Sister Heneghan, a native of Cleveland who moved to the archdiocese in 1967. “Each ministry was the right moment. It’s lifelong learning and giving. The receiving from the ministry and the giving, there’s always been a balance.”
“You just put your whole heart and soul in it. Each has been a marvelous adventure, truly,” said Sister Diebold.
The sisters celebrated 150 years of ministry in 2019. The sisters began their movement from the archdiocese a year earlier. In 2018, they closed St. Catherine Convent, which was located on Tyler Lane. The convent was used as a retirement home for sisters. Sisters in residence there moved to the McCauley Convent in Cincinnati and Mercy Convent in Nashville.
Reflecting on the Mercy ministry in the archdiocese, Sisters Diebold and Heneghan said their legacy lies in those who’ve experienced their ministry.
They have no doubt the charism will live on, particularly in two “vibrant ministries” — Mercy Academy, which the Sisters of Mercy established in 1885, and Assumption High School, which they established in 1955.
“It’s a blessing that there are two high schools to carry on the charism and pay attention to the critical concerns,” said Sister Heneghan.
She noted that in the absence of the Sisters of Mercy in the area, an umbrella organization, the Mercy Education System of the Americas, “assures all our schools will abide by the same charism and rules to keep them true to the Mercy values and educate women.”
Mercy Academy and Assumption High School leaders said, though they are lamenting the sisters’ departure, they are grateful for the impact they’ve had on the schools.
“This change marks the end of a significant chapter in the history of our Academy. In the classroom, chapel, and the hallways, the Sisters have shaped each of us into the women that we are today,” said Becky Montague, Mercy’s president, in a statement. “While we are heartbroken to see them leave Louisville, we are grateful for the generations of sisters that have made us all women of Mercy.
“In the years to come, the sisters’ legacy is ours to continue,” she said. “Their ministry frames our curriculum, and our faculty and staff are ready and dedicated to continue their mission.”
Mary Lang, president of Assumption, said the sisters’ charism has been the school’s “heart and soul” from the beginning.
“Their vision, values, and unwavering devotion to the education and empowerment of young women have touched every facet of our community. Through their example, the sisters instilled in us a deep sense of faith, compassion, justice and, above all, service,” said Lang in a statement. “These ideals continue to guide our mission and inspire our students. While their physical presence in Louisville may soon come to an end, the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy remains deeply woven into the fabric of Assumption.
“Every classroom, every student, and every act of service carries forward their legacy,” she said. “They taught us not only to pursue academic excellence but also to live with courage and conviction, working to make the world a more merciful place. … We are profoundly grateful for their lasting impact and of all the Sisters that came before them and will continue to honor their legacy by living the Mercy values they so beautifully modeled for generations of Assumption students.”
Hundreds gathered to thank the sisters at a special Mass of Appreciation, celebrated Aug. 10 by Father Deogratias Ssamba at Good Shepherd in Portland, where their ministry began.
The packed congregation included clergy, women religious, local leaders and students from Mercy and Assumption.
Father John Burke, who served for years at Good Shepherd, and Father Ronald Domhoff, concelebrated the liturgy.
Father Burke, who delivered the homily, told the congregation, “Responding to God’s call, even when you don’t know where you are going or what you are to do, has been a hallmark of our ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, Rachel, Moses and Joshua.
“And being called to go in faith to places unknown has been characteristic of all the great religious congregations, the Benedictines, the Jesuits, the Sisters of Charity, the Ursulines and certainly the Sisters of Mercy,” he said.
Not even Catherine McCauley could have imagined all the sisters have accomplished in the archdiocese, he said. In naming the sisters’ various ministries, Father Burke added, “All I can say to that is, wow. … What cannot be counted are the number of children taught and the number of lives enriched by these women over those 150 years.”
Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre said in a statement that the sisters’ “commitment has been invaluable.”
The archbishop didn’t attend the Mass but sent a letter for the sisters, which was read by Dr. Brian B. Reynolds, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Louisville, after the Mass.
“Your ministry, service, dedication, and prayers have positively influenced many individuals within our local church. Your commitment has been invaluable, and your legacy will continue to shape the archdiocese for years to come,” said the archbishop in the letter.
Sister Diebold said individuals often ask if they are “getting new sisters.” The answer, she noted, is yes, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas have new members across the globe.
There are more than 2,200 vowed Sisters of Mercy of the Americas serving people in need in the U.S., and in countries such as Argentina, Belize, Chile, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panama and Peru.
