Mercyhurst's Center for Mercy and Catholic Studies

The Center for Mercy and Catholic Studies The Legacy Lives On

About the Center

Goals and Objectives

Past Programs & Speakers

Mercyhurst was founded in 1926 by the Sisters of Mercy as a college, which would educate women in the liberal arts and offer practical degrees allowing each graduate to serve the community. Mercyhurst has developed into a comprehensive coeducational university with over 4,000 students in five locations. Throughout the years, Mercyhurst has valued and cultivated its Catholic and Mercy heritage.

• Establish an awareness of the Catholic intellectual tradition and its richness to history through the celebration and study of theology, philosophy, science, ethics, art, culture, literature, poetry and music throughout time.

Oct. 7, 2010: “The Liberal Arts, the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the Search for Truth,” by theologian Terrence Tilley

• Honor the institutional committment of the Sisters of Mercy by fostering dialogue to address the following: the economically poor, primarily women and children; immigrants; the environment; racism; and nonviolence. A Sister of Mercy is a featured speaker every year to signify the integral role the Sisters have and continue to play at Merychurst.

April 7, 2011: “Leadership for Liturgy: Building Blocks to Help Us Implement the Third Edition of the Roman Missal” by Sister Joyce Ann Zimmerman

Today, the Sisters’ legacy lives on through the Center for Mercy and Catholic Studies. The Center was established in 2010 through a generous donation by two Mercyhurst trustees: immediate past president of the board, William C. Sennett, and the late Charles A. Dailey, Jr. The primary focus of the Center is to honor the Catholic intellectual tradition; and thereby, highlight the relevance of Catholicism for the 21st Century. At the same time, the Center seeks to provide an avenue for both the Mercyhurst and Erie communities where faith and reason flourish together.

Funding and donations to the Center allow Mercyhurst University to strengthen its awareness of the Catholic intellectual tradition internally, as well as to reach an external audience. Through free events, such as lectures; an annual Lenten discussion series; collaborations with the Diocese of Erie; and a newly designed Catholics Studies minor, the Center hopes to further emphasize the importance that Catholicism brings to this region.

• Collaborate with the Diocese of Erie to address the impact of Catholicism in the region, and specifically the Erie community, as well as to examine how issues of faith and culture are perceived in the 21st Century.

• Launch a Catholics Studies minor in the Fall of 2013, which includes six courses, small classes and service opportunities.

This minor allows students to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic intellectual tradition, both past and present.

Dec. 10, 2010: “Gifted with Child — An Advent Reflection on the Sacredness of Being Human,” by Sister Sheila Carney, RSM

Oct. 6, 2011: “How Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church,” by Vatican journalist John L. Allen Jr. Dec. 12, 2011: “Fifty Years Later: Vatican II & Beyond,” with Rev. Scott Detisch, Ph.D.; Paul V. Murphy, Ph.D.; Paula M. Kane, Ph.D. Jan. 26, 2012: “Enriching Daily Life,” Sr. Rita Panciera, RSM Oct. 2, 2012: “Faith and the Cosmos: Exploration into God, Evolution and the Mystery of the Universe” by Ilia Delio, O.S.F., Ph.D.

Endowed Chair As a member of the Mercyhurst University family for 25 years, professor Mary Hembrow Snyder, Ph.D, is the first recipient to hold the Center for Mercy and Catholic Studies Endowed Chair. She has a doctorate in theology from St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, and has authored/edited three books.

Find out more.

For additional information or to make a contribution to the Center for Mercy and Catholic Studies, contact:

Mary Hembrow Snyder, Ph.D. Professor of religious studies Endowed Chair of the Center (814) 824-3105 msnyder@mercyhurst.edu

mercyhurst.edu/cmcs