This study examines the lives and ministries of the Sisters of Mercy of Sacramento, California, 1857-2008, in light of adaptive change, ministerial partnership and evangelizing presence. The Sisters of Mercy, a Catholic community of vowed women religious, have been an integral part of Sacramento’s growth and life throughout 165 years of ministerial presence in the city. Their works were multiple: education, healthcare, social services and spiritual ministry. This project seeks to identify operative factors underlying the formation of such a vital bond between the city and the sisters.

The formative power of the Sisters’ communal witness and vision will be explored as it interacted with dynamics of civic crises, urban growth and changing circumstances. Exploration of this one story seeks to discover a paradigm revealing practices of faith and action capable of sustaining and animating faith communities of all denominations.

The project has a two-fold purpose: to preserve for faith communities and society, a story of women’s vital contribution to church and society, providing a reservoir of hope in times of struggle and challenge; second, to raise up values, discernment norms and practices which can assist all communities of faith to shape a faith-filled adaptation to societal change.