September 29th, 1778
Catherine Elizabeth McAuley is born of Catholic parents in Dublin. Though the exact year of her birth cannot be verified, it is general practice to use 1778. Her sister Mary may have been born in 1781 or earlier.
April 26th, 1783
Birth of Catherine McAuley’s brother, James William.
July 18th, 1783
Her father, James McCauley, makes his will and dies shortly afterwards.
1798
Death of Catherine McAuley’s mother, Elinor Conway McAuley.
1801
Catherine McAuley moves in with Protestant relatives, the Armstrong’s.
1803
She moves into the home of a Protestant couple, William and Catherine Callaghan on Mary Street, Dublin as household manager and companion to Catherine Callaghan. Later in the year she moves with the Callaghan’s to Coolock House, a twenty-two acre estate northeast of Dublin.
August 18th, 1804
Catherine McAuley’s sister, Mary McAuley, marries Dr William Montgomery Macauley, a Protestant Apothecary.
October 3rd, 1819
Death of Catherine Callaghan
1821
Catherine McAuley’s brother, Dr James McAuley, a Surgeon and now a Protestant, marries Frances Ridgeway.
January 27th, 1822
William Callaghan signs his last will and a codicil designating Catherine McAuley as his sole residuary legatee.
August 9th, 1822
Death of Ann Conway Byrne, Catherine McAuley’s cousin. Catherine McAuley adopts ten year old Catherine Byrne, having adopted the baby, Teresa Byrne, in 1821.
November 10th, 1822
Death of William Callaghan.
May 11th, 1823
Dr Daniel Murray becomes Archbishop of Dublin.
c. 1823 – 1824
William Callaghan’s will is finally settled.
June 22nd, 1824
Catherine McAuley leases property on Baggot Street in southeast Dublin to build a house to serve poor women and children.
July 1824
Dr Michael Blake, a parish priest of Saints Michael and John’s and Catherine McAuley’s friend, lays the first stone for the house.
August 11th, 1837
Burial of Mary McAuley Macauley, Catherine McAuley’s sister. She leaves five children: Mary, James, Robert, Catherine and William, aged sixteen to five.
September 24th, 1827
Feast of our Lady of Mercy: the House on Baggot Street opens as a school for poor young girls and a residence for homeless girls and women. Anna Maria Doyle and Catherine Byrne move in and begin these works of mercy.
House in Baggot Street, Present Day
May 15th, 1828
Death of Edward Armstrong, a priest of Dublin and Catherine McAuley’s close friend and Spiritual Director in relation to the project.
May or June 1828
Catherine McAuley moves into Baggot Street with Teresa Byrne, age seven.
June 22nd, 1828
Frances Warde becomes a resident member.
September 10th, 1828
Catherine McAuley explains that Baggot Street is a place devoted to “the daily education of hundreds of poor female children and the instruction of young women who sleep in the house” (Letter 6).
September 15th, 1828
Catherine McAuley sells Coolock House
September 24th, 1828
Daniel Murray gives permission for the House on Baggot Street to be called “of Our Lady of Mercy.”
November 22nd, 1828
Daniel Murray received Mary McAuley, Catherine McAuley’s niece, into the Catholic Church, and permits the community to visit the sick in their homes and hospitals.
January 25th, 1829
Death of Catherine McAuley’s brother-in-law, Dr William Macauley. Each of his five children chooses her as legal guardian. She is now the adoptive mother of nine, including Catherine and Teresa Byrne, Ellen Corrigan, an orphan, and Ann Rice, a homeless child.
March 2nd, 1829
Catherine McAuley registers her nephews – James, Robert and William Macauley – as boarders at Carlow College.
April 8th, 1829
She establishes the Baggot Street Trust, which assigns the House of Mercy to Daniel Murray should she and her associates cease to fulfil the purposes for the House.
June 4th, 1829
Dr Murray dedicates the chapel in the House and opens it to the public, the funds generated from Sunday collections to be used to support the women and girls sheltered there. He assigns Daniel Burke, OSF, as Chaplain to the House of Mercy, and Redmond O’Hanlon, ODC, as Confessor to the community.
September 8th, 1829
Margaret Dunne joins the community.
November 22nd, 1829
Catherine McAuley’s niece, Mary Macauley, joins the community.
November 30th, 1829
Elizabeth Harley joins the community.
Early 1830
In the midst of clerical and lay criticism, Catherine McAuley and her associates decide, against her earlier judgement, to found an unenclosed religious congregation of women dedicated to the service of the poor, sick, and ignorant.
June 10th, 1830
Georgiana Moor joins the community.
July 12th, 1830
Mary Anne Delany joins the community.
September 8th, 1830
As preparation for founding the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley, Anna Maria Doyle, and Elizabeth Harley enter the Presentation Sisters at George’s Hill, Dublin and begin their Novitiate on December 9th, 1830.
June 28th, 1831
Death of Caroline Murphy at Baggot Street. She is buried in the Carmelite vault at Saint Teresa’s Church, Clarendon Street, the first of thirteen Sisters of Mercy who will be buried there.
December 12th, 1831
At George’s Hill, Catherine McAuley and her two associates – now called in religion, Mary Ann Doyle and Mary Elizabeth Harley – each “vow perpetual poverty, chastity and obedience, and to preserve until the end of my life in the Congregation called the Sisters of Mercy, established for the Visitation of the Sick Poor and charitable instruction of poor females.” Thus they founded the Sisters of Mercy.
December 13th, 1831
Daniel Murray appoints Catherine McAuley the first Superior.
January 23rd, 1832
Seven women at Baggot Street receive the habit of the Sisters of Mercy at the first reception ceremony; Mary Josephine (Catherine) Byrne, Mary Frances (Frances) Warde, Mary Angela (Margaret) Dunne, Mary Teresa (Mary) Macauley, Mary Clare (Georgiana) Moore, Mary Magdalen de Pazzi (Mary Anne) Delany, and Mary Agnes (Anna) Carroll. Mary Aloysius (Anne) O’Grady is also received on her deathbed.
February 7th, 1832
Mary Aloysius O’Grady dies at Baggot Street.
April 25th, 1832
Mary Elizabeth Harley dies at Baggot Street.
March – December 1832
Cholera epidemic in Dublin. At the Board of Health’s request, Catherine McAuley and other Sisters work for months, in shifts from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm in a cholera hospital set up on Townsend Street.
June 10th, 1832
Anne Moore enters the community. She will receive the habit and the name Mary Elizabeth on October 8th, 1832, and profess her Vows on October 8th, 1834.
December 1st, 1832
Mary Josephine (Catherine) Byrne transfers to the Dominican Convent in Cabra.
January 24th, 1833
Four women profess their Vows at the First Profession ceremony on Baggot Street: Mary Frances Warde, Mary Angela Dunne, Mary Clare Moore and Mary de Pazzi Delany.
March 17th, 1833
Dr Michael Blake is consecrated Bishop of Dromore. Walter Meyler succeeds him as parish priest of St. Andrew’s.
November 3rd, 1833
Catherine McAuley’s niece, Mary Teresa Macauley, professes her Vows in a private ceremony.
November 12th, 1833
Mary Teresa Macauley dies just after midnight.
December 8th, 1833
Catherine McAuley sends to Rome two original chapters of the future Rule and Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy, and a petition for approbation of the Sisters of Mercy. These chapters – on the Visitation of the Sick and the Protection of Distressed Women – will be additions to the Rule and Constitutions of the Presentation Sisters, which Catherine McAuley will revise for the Sisters of Mercy.
January 28th, 1834
Catherine McAuley’s niece, Catherine Macauley, who had lived in Baggot Street since 1828 – 1829, enters the community. She will receive the habit and the name Mary Anne Agnes on July 3rd, 1834 and profess her Vows on October 22nd, 1836.
September 4th, 1834
Mary Carton enters the community at Baggot Street, as a lay Sister. She will receive the habit and the name Teresa on July 1st, 1835 and profess her Vows on October 22nd, 1836.
October 1834
Dr Walter Meyler decides to close the Convent Chapel to the public, thereby cutting off needed funds for the House of Mercy.
March 24th, 1835
Catherine McAuley opens a branch house in Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) as a place of convalescence for sick Sisters at Baggot Street. She gives buildings on the property to create a school for the poor girls she sees “loitering about the roads.” She will be subsequently charged with the entire cost of the renovation.
April 21st, 1836
Catherine McAuley founds a Convent of Mercy in Tullamore, Ireland. Mary Ann Doyle is appointed Superior.
Convent of Mercy, Tullamore, Co Offaly
October 29th, 1836
Catherine McAuley founds a Convent of Mercy in Charleville, Ireland. Mary Angela Dunn is named Superior.
Convent of Mercy, Charleville, Co Cork
February 5th, 1837
Anna Maria Harnett enters the community. She will receive the habit, taking the name Mary Vincent, on July 1st, 1837 and profess her Vows on October 24th, 1838.
April 11th, 1837
Catherine McAuley founds St. Leo’s Convent of Mercy in Carlow, Ireland. Mary Frances Warde is appointed Superior.
St. Leo’s Convent, Carlow
July 6th, 1837
Catherine McAuley founds a Convent of Mercy in Cork. Mary Clare Moore is appointed Superior.
August 7th, 1837
Catherine McAuley’s niece, Mary Anne Agnes (Catherine) Macauley, dies at Baggot Street.
August 15th, 1837
Catherine McAuley’s godchild, Teresa Byrne, who had been living at Baggot Street, enters the community. She will receive the habit and the name Mary Camilus on February 21st, 1838, and profess her Vows on May 4th, 1841.
Autumn 1837
Daniel Burke, OSF, Chaplain since 1829, resigns to accompany the new Vicar Apostolic of the Cape of Good Hope, Dr Patrick Griffith. A disagreement begins between Catherine McAuley and Walter Meyler over appointment of a Chaplain for the House of Mercy.
November 1837
In Kingstown Catherine McAuley falls and breaks her wrist.
June 1838
Catherine McAuley opens a branch house in Booterstown, as a possible replacement for the Kingstown convent.
Convent of Mercy, Booterstown, Co Dublin
July 1838
Receiving a legacy of £1000, Catherine McAuley decides to build a commercial laundry at Baggot Street, as income for the House of Mercy.
September 2th, 1838
Catherine McAuley founds a Convent of Mercy in Limerick. Mary Elizabeth Moore is appointed Superior.
November 1838
The community withdraws from Kingstown.
December 1838
Catherine McAuley’s nephew, William (Willie) Macauley, goes to sea. She loses contact with him, and later presumes that he has died at sea.
September 24th, 1839
A Convent of Mercy is established in Bermondsey. Mary Clare Moore is appointed temporary Superior.
Late 1839 – early 1840
Catherine McAuley sends to Rome for final approval and papal confirmation the text of the Rule and Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy.
January 4th, 1840
Catherine McAuley’s nephew, Robert Macauley, dies of consumption.
Mid-January 1840
Catherine McAuley returns to Dublin and is “confined to bed” for two weeks.
March 3rd, 1840
Paul Gavino Secchi Murro, Consultor of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, submits a positive report on the proposed Rule and Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy.
March 6th, 1840
With Dr Murray’s permission, Catherine McAuley appoints Mary de Pazzi Delany, to be her Assistant; Mary Aloysius Scott, Bursar; and Mary Cecilia Marmion, Mistress of Novices.
April 1840
Catherine McAuley re-opens the house in Kingstown at Dr Murray’s request.
Early May 1840
Catherine McAuley founds a Convent of Mercy in Galway. Mary Teresa White is appointed Superior.
July 20th, 1840
In Rome, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Fait approves the Rule and Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy and later forwards its recommendation to Pope Gregory XVI.
December 8th, 1840
The Carlow community founds a Convent of Mercy in Wexford. Mary Teresa Kelly is appointed Superior.
Convent of Mercy, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford
December 27th, 1840
Catherine McAuley founds a Convent of Mercy in Birr. Mary Aloysius Scott is appointed Superior.
Convent of Mercy, Birr, Co Offaly
March 31st, 1841
Fifty-two women and girls are crowded in the House of Mercy on Baggot Street at this time.
April 12th, 1841
Catherine McAuley writes: “my old cough is tormenting me.”
April 29th, 1841
James Macauley, Catherine’s eldest nephew, dies.
May 16th, 1841
Frances Gibson enters the Baggot Street community for an eventual foundation in Liverpool (1843).
June 6th, 1841
Gregory XVI confirms the Rule and Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy.
June 14th, 1841
Mary Clare Moore returns to Baggot Street from Bermondsey, and a week later goes to Cork to resume the role of Superior.
July 5th, 1841
The decree of papal confirmation of the Rule is promulgated in Rome. Cardinal Fransoni sends this information to Dr Murray on July 31st, with copies of the approved text in Italian.
August 19th, 1841
Four young women destined for the foundation in Birmingham profess their Vows on this day, as does Mary Justina Fleming, who will die on December 10th.
August 20th, 1841
Catherine McAuley draws up her will. In the evening she and the founding party for Birmingham sail to Liverpool and proceed by rail to Birmingham.
August 21st, 1841
Catherine McAuley founds a Convent of Mercy in Birmingham.
September 6th, 1841
Catherine McAuley sends instructions to Teresa Carton at Baggot Street about preparing space for her in the infirmary.
September 20th, 1841
She leaves Birmingham, arrives in Kingstown on the morning of September 21st, and proceeds to Baggot Street.
September 26th, 1841
She writes to Mary Aloysius Scott in Birr, saying she has seen Dr William Stokes twice. He says her right lung is “diseased.”
October 12th, 1841
Writing to Frances Warde about “some evident mistakes in the copy of our Rule,” Catherine McAuley adds “I have felt the last bad change in the weather very much.”
October 18th, 1841
She asks Charles Cavanagh to secure £20 bequeathed to her by Mrs Ryan. This is apparently her last extant letter.
c. October 29th, 1841
Catherine McAuley becomes bedridden. She is suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis complicated by an abscess.
November 8th, 1841
Redmond O’Hanlon anoints her on Monday night.
November 11th, 1841
Catherine McAuley signs the codicil to her will. She is visited by her brother James, his wife Frances, Dr William Stokes, and several priests, including Redmond O’Hanlon, Myles Gaffney, and Walter Meyler.
She asks Teresa Carton to “tell the Sisters to get a good cup of tea – I think the Community Room would be a good place – when I am gone, and to comfort one another, but God will comfort them” (Mary Vincent Whitty to Mary Cecilia Marmion, November 12th, 1841).
Catherine McAuley dies, about ten minutes to eight in the evening.
November 15th, 1841
After the Solemn Office and Requiem Mass, she is buried in the earth, like the poor, as she had wished.
