Mercy legacy lives on after academy torn down

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

Loyola University New Orleans is building a much-needed, state-of-the-art student dormitory on th
e site of the former Mercy Academy at Calhoun and Freret streets.
 
“Loyola has a tremendous need for more on-campus housing,” said Rachel Hoormann, Loyola’s vice president of marketing and communications. “Today, roughly half of our undergraduates must live off campus, and we do not have enough housing to meet the needs for our two-year housing requirement. In addition, we do not have any housing available for graduate students. In total, more than 2,000 students have to find housing off campus every year.

Designed by EskewDumezRipple, the new dorm will have a community center within its more than 200,000 square feet, be between five and seven stories and cost about $93 million. The exterior facade will be masonry designed to blend with existing campus architecture. Estimated completion of the project is fall 2025.

“This project will reimagine the corner of Freret and Calhoun as a campus gateway, creating a sense of place and a clear transition point at the edge of campus,” Hoormann said. “The site design will greatly increase pedestrian safety in this area.”

Saying goodbye to past
Last fall, Loyola initiated the process of updating its Institutional Master Plan (IMP) to include the new residence hall. The building will replace the former Mercy Academy building, built in 1960 and closed in 1992 – the year the Sisters of Mercy sold the building to Loyola.

The Mercy Sisters’ affiliation with Holy Name of Jesus School dates to 1909 when the Jesuits invited them to teach. (The Mercy Sisters assumed responsibility from the Jesuits and built a new girls’ high school in 1960; the name formally changed in 1969.)

Contributions from the 1992 building sale went to each of the elementary schools where Mercy sisters were teaching at the time – St. Alphonsus, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kenner, Holy Name of Jesus – and an endowment was created at nearby De La Salle High School, where Mercy female students attended after their school was closed, said Mercy Sister Nicholas Schiro, moderator of the Mercy Alumni Association and former principal of St. Francis Xavier and Holy Name of Jesus schools.

Until demolition began in July, Loyola had used the old Mercy Hall for the College of Nursing’s counseling department, human resources, the Jesuit Social Research Institute, criminal justice, the Twomey Center, Holy Name of Jesus’ Little Gators program and more, Hoormann said.

Mercy Academy graduates toured their old school June 17, gathering around the tile shield in the marble floor – some wearing uniform skirts – recalling how their Mercy education lived up to its motto, “Young women today … Community leaders tomorrow.”

“Mercy taught me how to be a better person and to check and double check things. That really stayed with me for my career as a forensic accountant,” said Penny Rogers Baumer, alumnae association president, class of 1971. “Even though they are imploding the building, I don’t think they could ever implode the sisterhood that Mercy had.”

“To walk the hallways, just to see everybody, it was just like a reunion and brought back so many memories. The Mercy logo (in the foyer) went straight to my heart. It is a true sisterhood,” said Tanesha Santemore, class of 1989.

Angelle Arata, from the last Mercy graduating class of 1992, said she is a LA Master Naturalist today because she learned social justice from Mercy science teacher John Hourcade and a social worker inspired by Mercy Sister Liz Duckworth and Ms. Michaela Neal. She met her best friends there.

“Mercy was a second family to me,” Arata said. “I don’t know where I would be today without them.”

Reveca Mladenoff, Mercy class of 1990, followed her sisters to Mercy.

“I can’t underscore enough the quality of the education,” Mladenoff said. “We had teachers who were tough, but they pushed you hard so you would reach your potential. When I got to the university, it was a cakewalk compared to what I experienced at Mercy.

“I have peace with the school closure. I was initially devastated when the school closed and heard it was going to be torn down. But, when we walked through the building (on June 17), it was not in the condition it was when we left it. I have words of advice for all former Mercy students – keep your memories that you have.”

“We are Mercy,” Arata said. “We can all keep Mercy alive, and we can pass it on to others. We don’t need a building for that.”


During demolition, a time capsule also was found. Holy Name of Jesus School plans to incorporate items found inside (along with other possible Mercy memorabilia) in its new building “to honor our Mercy heritage,” HNJ director of institutional advancement Amy Nolan said.

A Mother of Mercy statue on the exterior of the old Mercy building, originally donated by the Dr. M.O. Miller family in thanksgiving for the Mercy sisters teaching their daughter Marie Diane Miller (who had Down syndrome and was a 1969 graduate), will also be placed at the school. In addition, the Holy Name entryway is being named the Mother McAuley entry, and there will be a hallway in the building named the Mercy Corridor.



Legacy will live on
The Sisters of Mercy left a large legacy since arriving from Ireland, making their way to New Orleans from New York in 1869 and teaching at St. Alphonsus School, where they remain today; Holy Name of Jesus, beginning in 1909, and Mercy Academy in New Orleans; and St. Francis Xavier School in Metairie.

The Mercy Sisters also operated Redemptorist Girls High School on Prytania and Third streets through 1953, and taught at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kenner, and in Jeanerette and St. Martinville, Louisiana.

Ten remaining Mercy sisters in New Orleans continue the legacy. There will be a Mass and Reception Sept. 23 at 11 a.m. for Mercy Day at Holy Name of Jesus’ Pastoral Center (the former Mercy convent) with Jesuit Father Mark Thibodeaux celebrating Mass. A wine and hors d’oeuvres reception will follow.

“The spiritual and corporal works of mercy and fulfilling the needs of the people wherever they may be are our legacy,” Sister Nicholas said. “We care for the poor, the sick and educate the masses. We have a wonderful penchant for education and health care. Our sisters have put their blood, sweat and tears into these areas.”

Although they are no longer at Holy Name or St. Francis, “the spirit of Mother McCauley (the Mercy founder) continues at Holy Name and St. Francis Xavier,” Sister Nicholas said. There are about 2,200 Sisters of Mercy in America.

“Mercy is everything to me,” said Odette Woitschek, class of 1983. “It made me the person I am today – caring, respectful and loving. … The Sisters of Mercy instilled that in me. As far as the school being demolished, it is sad, but it happens. Hopefully, the students who will be housed there will appreciate the land they are on.”
  
To join the Mercy Alumnae Association, email [email protected]. Membership is $15 a year.
           
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