Currently there are seven ministries sponsored by the Congregational Leadership Team: St. Patrick’s Mercy Home, St. Patrick’s Mercy Home Foundation, St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital Advisory Council, The Gathering Place, Mercy Centre for Ecology and Justice, Belvedere Orphanage Fund and Misericordia Mission Fund.
Most of these ministries have legal status according to the Companies Act (Province of Newfoundland and Labrador), have a Board of Directors and a level of autonomy in the governance and management of their specific activities. Most have registered charity status according to Canadian Federal Government regulations.
As the members of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland increase in age and diminish in numbers the Congregation, in conversation with colleagues, is engaged in a discernment process regarding the future. A decision was made by the general assembly of the sisters, the 22 General Chapter (2021), to establish a legal entity that would oversee and carry out the governance of the various “sponsored ministries” of the Congregation. That entity, a legal corporation, was registered on August 10, 2023 as Mercy Wellsprings, Incorporated. As of January 1, 2025 Mercy Wellsprings has been acknowledged as a registered charity.
There is currently work being done to plan and transfer these sponsored ministries over to Mercy Wellsprings to oversee and provide support similar to how the Congregation provides today. This work will continue and evolve over the next couple of years.
Sponsored Ministries of the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland
St. Patrick’s Mercy Home Foundation
St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital Advisory Council
Mercy Centre for Ecology and Justice
Misericordia Mission Fund
Belvedere Orphanage Fund
