The Brothers of Our Lady of Mercy, or in full Brothers of Mercy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (F.M.M.), are a Catholic religious institute.

History

The institute was founded at

Mechlin Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

(Flanders, capital of the ecclesiastical province coinciding with Belgium) in 1839 by Canon J. B. Cornelius Scheppers (1802 - 1877) for the instruction and care of prisoners and of the sick. They were invited to S. Balbina in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

by Cardinal Pecci, afterwards

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

, who had witnessed their work while he was nuncio in Belgium at

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. It was at his instance that

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

confirmed the institution of the brothers in 1854. A few years before,

Xavier de Mérode Xavier de Mérode (Frédéric François Xavier Ghislain; Brussels, 1820 – Rome, 1874) was a Belgian prelate, archbishop and statesman of the Papal states. Biography Xavier de Mérode was the son of Count Félix de Mérode-Westerloo, who ...

had been appointed to a papal office which entailed the direction of the Roman prisons. Historians have documented Mérode's efforts to improve the penitentiary system in Rome. Mérode adapted some of the concepts of Belgian reformer

Édouard Ducpétiaux Antoine Édouard Ducpétiaux (29 June 1804, Brussels – 21 July 1868, Brussels) was a Belgian journalist and social reformer. In 1827 he obtained his doctorate from the University of Ghent, being admitted to the bar in Brussels during the follow ...

. He also brought some of the Brothers of Mercy from Mechelen to Rome to assist in this work. In 1855 Cardinal Manning invited them to London, where they have undertaken the care of the prisoners in Catholic reformatories and the education of the children of the poor. They are under simple vows and the term of the novitiate is two years. They wear a black

habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

and scapular with a brown cross on the breast.

References

Institutes of Catholic religious brothers Religious organizations established in 1839 Catholic orders and societies Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century 1839 establishments in Belgium {{RC-society-stub