St Catharine's Convent or St Catharine’s Mercy Centre is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

and a centre for the homeless in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland. It was built in 1860 and originally designed by

David Cousin David Cousin (19 May 1809 – 14 August 1878) was a Scottish architect, landscape architect and Urban planning, planner, closely associated with early cemetery design and many prominent buildings in Edinburgh, Scotland, Edinburgh. From 1841 to ...

, with additions made in 1887 and 1892. It is located on the corner of Lauriston Gardens and Lauriston Place in the

Lauriston Lauriston ( ) is an area of central Edinburgh, Scotland, and home to a number of significant historic buildings. It lies south of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket, and north of The Meadows public park. Lauriston is the former location ...

area of Edinburgh. In 1992, it became a Mercy Centre with the mission of helping the local homeless. In 1989, it was designated a

category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

History

Foundation

In 1831, the

were founded in Dublin, Ireland, by

Catherine McAuley Catherine McAuley, RSM (29 September 1778 – 11 November 1841) was an Irish Catholic religious sister who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831.Austin, Mary Stanislas"Sisters of Mercy."''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Ap ...

. In 1849, Sisters of Mercy from Limerick came to Glasgow to found a community in

Garnethill Garnethill is a predominantly residential area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland with a number of important public buildings. Geography Located in the city centre, the area borders Cowcaddens to its north, Sauchiehall Street to its south, Camb ...

(now part of St Aloysius' College). They were invited by the Bishop James Gillis, the Apostolic Vicar of the Eastern District of Scotland to found a convent in Edinburgh. In 1860, they moved into

Construction

The building was originally designed by

. It was built in 1860. In 1887, the convent was expanded and a church was added. It was called St Catharine's Church. The extensions and church were designed by the architect Archibald Macpherson (1851–1927). He was an ecclesiastical architect who mainly worked on Catholic churches and schools such as

Sacred Heart, Edinburgh Sacred Heart, Edinburgh, formally known as the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is a Roman Catholic church run by the Society of Jesus, close to the city centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is situated in Lauriston, m ...

, St Aloysius Church, Glasgow,

St Aloysius' College, Glasgow St Aloysius' College is a Public school (UK), selective fee-paying, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Society of Jesus, Jesuit day school in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1859 by the Jesuits, who previously staffed the coll ...

and St David's Church, Dalkeith. In 1892 he made further alterations to the church building.St Catharine's Convent, 4 Lauriston Gardens
from British Listed Buildings, retrieved 17 September 2022

Works

In 1865, sisters from the convent founded a training college for Catholic teachers that would later become St Thomas of Aquin's High School. In 1886, it became an all-girl school, called St Thomas of Aquin's College. In 1975, boys were admitted to the college. In 2002, the college moved to a new building and became St Thomas of Aquin's High School. In 1891, the Sisters of Mercy in Scotland expanded and bought the ruined remains of a pre-Reformation Franciscan monastery in

Elgin, Moray Elgin ( ; ; ) is a historic town (former cathedral city) and formerly a royal burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above th ...

, they restored them and it became

Greyfriars Sisters of Mercy Convent in Elgin Greyfriars Sisters of Mercy Convent in Elgin, Moray is one of the few Catholic monasteries, founded in Scotland after the Reformation in 1560. History On the site of the current convent, a Franciscan monastery was founded in 1479 on the site of ...

. In 1992, the

general chapter A chapter ( or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the reading of a chapter o ...

of the

designated St Catharine's Convent a Mercy Centre. It has the mission of supporting the local homeless and disadvantaged population of the city. As of 2022, it welcomes up to 200 people a day. On 11 July 2022, its director Sister Aelred Timmins was given an honorary doctorate by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in recognition of the centre's work.Summer Graduations
from

, 4 July 2022, retrieved 17 September 2022

References

External links