2003S1866-1 09/18/03


By:  Zaffirini                                                  S.C.R. No. 4  



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Texas is pleased to 
recognize Sisters of Mercy, a religious order that serves people 
all over the world through education, health care and other 
ministries; and
	WHEREAS, The Congregation of Sisters of Mercy was founded  by 
Catherine McAuley, of Dublin, Ireland, who was known for her 
passion for helping the poor; she inherited a sizable fortune and 
built the House of Mercy, where she cared for and educated destitute 
girls and from which she and others went out to visit the sick and to 
take them both spiritual and material help to ease their suffering; 
and
	WHEREAS, Catherine was encouraged by the clergy to establish 
a religious community to ensure her work would continue after her 
death, and after a year of instruction, she and two other women 
became the first Sisters of Mercy in 1831; the congregation grew 
rapidly and soon would encircle the world to nurse the sick, 
minister to the poor and teach the uneducated; and
	WHEREAS, Three Sisters of Mercy arrived in Laredo in 1894, 
and with just $445 and a vision for healing, they established the 
city's first hospital, Mercy Hospital; its successor, Mercy Health 
Center, is recognized as one of the top hospitals in the nation and 
twice was named one of the 100 Top Hospitals; and
	WHEREAS, The good works performed by Sisters of Mercy are 
immeasurable, and the hospital they established 109 years ago in 
Laredo today impacts the lives of almost every citizen in the Laredo 
area; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas, 
3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to Sisters of Mercy for the 
order's invaluable work on behalf of the citizens of South Texas and 
citizens around the globe; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be prepared as an 
expression of esteem from the Texas Legislature.