Sisters of Mercy Ministry celebrates 140 years

Sister Cephas Wichman knows the kind of impact a group like the Sisters of Mercy can have on a city like Cedar Rapids because she's been part of it since 1950.

Helping a community grow by helping individuals thrive is an important objective for the Sisters, she said.

'We're always interested in what is good for individuals and the dignity of the person, that's where justice and mercy really come through,” she says. 'If we look at every person as being important, we can't let them suffer by themselves.”

That's what the Sisters of Mercy have done and what it celebrates this weekend when it observes its 140th anniversary.

When Wichman entered the order, most sisters were teachers or involved in the health care field. That's what they did then, she said. It's no surprise, then, that the first two areas of community growth the Sisters of Mercy put its focus was Mount Mercy College - now University - and Mercy Medical Center.

'There have been a lot of changes over those years,” Wichman says. The sisters also created the Catherine McAuley Center in Cedar Rapids - named for the woman who founded Sisters of Mercy - to help young women dropping out of high school and not finishing their education. That center grew to help men, as well.

'We were able to provide tutoring, not only for women but for men, too,” Wichman says. Later the order created the Catherine McAuley House, a transitional housing center for women who were coming out of jail, rehabilitation or abusive relationships without a permanent address, making it difficult to find a job.

'Those three ministries have all shown growth and stability over the years, and we have had help and support from the community of Cedar Rapids,” Wichman says. 'We have been here these last 140 years, we've taught in several schools, we've created different ministries. Our numbers have dwindled but that's typical in religious life today.”

The Sisters of Mercy will hold a weekend-long celebration marking its 140 years in Cedar Rapids. On Friday more than 100 sisters gathered for a service project with one of the local food banks.

The order is celebrating its 140th anniversary with a weekend long celebration.At 1:30 p.m. toda y a plaque honoring the Sisters of Mercy will be unveiled at Third Avenue and Seventh Street SE, the site of its first ministry in Cedar Rapids, St. Joseph Academy, with a short prayer service. The unveiling will be followed by a self-guided tour of significant sites in the Sister of Mercy history and will begin at Mercy Medical Center, 701 10th St. SE, Cedar Rapids.

On Sunday from 2:30 to 4 p.m., the public is invited to attend a reception in celebration of the 140th anniversary at Mount Mercy University in the Sisters of Mercy University Center.

If you go

The Sisters of Mercy will hold two public events this weekend to mark its 140th anniversary celebration.

' Placque unveiling: 1:30 p.m. today, Third Avenue and Seventh Street SE, Cedar Rapids.

' Reception: 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Mount Mercy University in the Sisters of Mercy University Center, 1330 Elmhurst Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids.