 The Sisters of Mercy, a religious congregation founded in Ireland in 1831 by Catherine McAuley, brought its stated mission of caring and compassion to the growing industrial city of Pittsburgh in 1843.Mother Frances Warde led six other sisters to the United States, where they founded the first congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh.The pioneering "Seven Sisters" of Mercy opened the first permanent hospital in Pittsburgh, and the world’s first Mercy Hospital, on January 1, 1847.