SATURDAY 12 December marks Foundation Day, 189 years since Catherine McAuley and two of her young companions took vows in Dublin as the first Sisters of Mercy.

It is also, by both thoughtful planning and good fortune, our own Foundation Day, marking 15 years since Sisters of Mercy in New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa agreed to merge their historic four Congregations and become one.

“Hurrah for foundations,” wrote Catherine. “They make the young happy and the old young!” Rejoicing over our beginnings, however, can never be an excuse for resting on our laurels.