Frances Warde: The Footsteps of Mercy By: Ulana M. Bochan Ulana M. Bochan’s Frances Warde: The Footsteps of Mercy adds a new dimension to her two previous books, Living with Catherine McAuley and Walk the Seasons With Mercy. It explores the life of Frances Warde, whose earthly footsteps of Mercy imprinted values of faith, humility, compassion, and unconditional love. With an unwavering commitment of “yes” to God, Frances was able to overcome the most challenging circumstances of life. Heroic and selfless, she went to wherever she was called. She accepted the spiritual call to leave her homeland to help establish the first Mercy schools in the United States. Her pioneering spirit and natural gift for teaching others resulted in the spread of Mercy schools in this new land. Frances, guided by the call of the spirit to minister to all in need, made Mercy her spiritual quest, her defined existence. Frances Warde’s life attests to what one person is capable of achieving when Mercy is actively lodged in the heart. (Appendix offers suggestions for incorporating Frances Warde: The Footsteps of Mercy in the classroom, groups, or individual meditation.)

"Nuns became the nation's first cadre of independent, professional women. Some nursed, some taught, and many created and managed new charitable organizations, including large hospitals and colleges ... [This book] reveals the spiritual wealth that these women invested in America"--Back cover.

This two-volume set examines women's contributions to religious and moral development in America, covering individual women, their faith-related organizations, and women's roles and experiences in the broader social and cultural contexts of their times. This second edition of Encyclopedia of American Women and Religion provides updated and expanded information from historians and other scholars of religion, covering new issues in religion to better describe and document women's roles within religious groups. For instance, the term "evangelical feminism" is one newly defined aspect of women's involvement in religious activism. Changes are constantly occurring within the many religious faiths and denominations in America, particularly as women strive to gain positions within religious hierarchies that previously were exclusive to men and rise within their denominations to become theologians, church leaders, and bishops. The entries examine the roles that American women have played in mainstream religious denominations, small religious sects, and non-traditional practices such as witchcraft, as well as in groups that question religious beliefs, including agnostics and atheists. A section containing primary documents gives readers a firsthand look at matters of concern to religious women and their organizations. Many of these documents are the writings of women who merit entries within the encyclopedia. Readers will gain an awareness of women's contributions to religious culture in America, from the colonial era to the present day, and better understand the many challenges that women have faced to achieve success in their religion-related endeavors.

On July 20, 1991, the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas came into existence. This study examines the extent to which the development of the proposed governance model of the new Institute remained faithful to the heritage of the Sisters of Mercy as established by the founder, Catherine McAuley. The author devotes considerable attention to the on-going dialogue between the Mercy leadership and the Holy See, the Church authority to effect such restructuring while also discussing the broader challenges ahead for the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Contents: Introduction; I. Historical and Canonical Context. The Heritage of the Sisters of Mercy; The Expansion of the Sisters of Mercy in the U.S.; II. Formation of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Movement Toward Restructuring the Sisters of Mercy in the U.S.; The Formal Juridic Preparation for the Formation of a Single Institute; Summary and Conclusions; Appendices.

The Westminster Handbook to Women in American Religious History provides an affordable and accessible reference to over 750 outstanding individual women and women's organizations in American religious history.--From publisher description.