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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

of the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They ...

and a centre for the homeless in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. It was built in 1860 and originally designed by David Cousin, with additions made in 1887 and 1892. It is located on the corner of Lauriston Gardens and Lauriston Place in the Lauriston 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.

History

Foundation

In 1831, the

were founded in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 1849, Sisters of Mercy from Limerick came to Glasgow to found a community in Garnethill (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 Lauriston.

Construction

The building was originally designed by David Cousin. 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,

St Aloysius Church, Glasgow St Aloysius Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in the Garnethill area of Glasgow in Scotland. It is the only church in Glasgow to be run by the Society of Jesus. It is situated on the corner of Hill Street and Rose Street and is next door ...

, St Aloysius' College, Glasgow 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 St Thomas of Aquin's High School is a state-funded Catholic secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools ...

. 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 (; sco, Ailgin; gd, Eilginn, ) is a 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 ...

, 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 ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman 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 read ...

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 ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

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

, 4 July 2022, retrieved 17 September 2022

References

External links

*
Sister of Mercy UK

St Catharine's Convent
on

Canmore Canmore may refer to: * Canmore (database), a Scottish national online database of ancient monuments; *Canmore, Alberta, a town in Canada; *the House of Dunkeld, a royal house that ruled Scotland in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, including **Mal ...