The first foundation of the WMW was established in 1846 when Mother Mary Frances Warde and five companions, all under the age of 25, arrived in Chicago. Quickly following were establishments of Mercy foundations in San Francisco (the actual beginnings of Burlingame in 1854 and Auburn in 1857) and Grass Valley, Calif. (the first of Omaha's 13 founding foundations in 1863), as well as Cedar Rapids (in 1875). Detroit, which is made up of four foundations, traces its beginnings to Foundation, Iowa, in 1869, but could easily be argued as one of the oldest Mercy communities due to its origins in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1856.
To view a timeline of our history, please click here.
Sister Regina Marie Doelker has been the President of Mercy High in Farmington Hills, Mich., for seven years, and she is proud of what Mercy High has accomplished this year. “We just renovated the science classrooms, and all four years of students have tablet PCs for their classroom and home use,” she said enthusiatically while walking the tidy halls of her beloved school.