Our Beginnings
Convent of Mercy 2026,
St Aloysius College Archives
Our Beginnings
The Great Famine in Ireland led to mass emigration, with people leaving for countries around the world. A significant number settled in Argentina, but the vastly different climate and living conditions made life challenging for the new arrivals.
In 1856, news reached Ireland that many of these emigrants were struggling. In response, seven Sisters of Mercy sailed to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to establish a foundation. There, they set up schools, a hospital and an orphanage to support the Irish community.
In 1880, a violent uprising in Buenos Aires threatened the safety of the Sisters resulting in their return to Dublin. Here they met Bishop Christopher Reynolds from Adelaide and accepted his invitation to establish a foundation there.
3 May, 1880
Arrival in Adelaide
The Sisters, led by Mother Evangelista Fitzpatrick, arrived at Port Adelaide with the mission to establish a Mercy foundation in Adelaide. A house in Gouger Street was rented, but due to the cramped conditions it was decided that twelve Sisters would stay in Adelaide and twelve would move to Mt Gambier to set up a Mercy foundation there.
5 June, 1880
Convent of Mercy
The home of Mr G. Dutton-Green in Angas Street, Adelaide was purchased as their convent.
July 1880
Convent of Mercy School
The Convent of Mercy School, a select or fee-paying school, was housed in a room in the new convent and educated girls from primary through to senior classes.
6 August 1880
St Angela’s and St Anthony’s Schools
The Sisters established two non-fee-paying schools on the ground floor of St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral Hall – St Anthony’s for boys and St Angela’s for girls, providing a primary education for the poorer children of the parish.
12 August 1880
House of Mercy opened
The stables and coach house at the rear of the property were converted into the House of Mercy, which provided training in domestic service to young women in need of employment and accommodation. The House of Mercy proved so successful that a new building, St Philomena’s House of Mercy, was erected and opened in 1884 on a portion of cathedral land adjoining the convent.
20 March, 1882
St Angela’s Select Intermediate School for Girls
In 1882, the Convent of Mercy School transferred from a room in the convent to the upper rooms of St Francis Xavier’s Hall and renamed St Angela’s Select Intermediate School for Girls. It catered to wealthier Catholic families from suburban Adelaide, as well as boarders from country South Australia, with a strong focus on both the arts and academic education.
1904
St Aloysius High and Boarding School
Two inheritances gave the Sisters the funds to erect a new building next to the House of Mercy. This three-story building at the northern end of the convent property was named McAuley House, in honour of Catherine McAuley, the founder of the Sisters of Mercy. St Angela’s Select School moved from the Cathedral Hall and was renamed St Aloysius High and Boarding School. The poorer children of the parish continued to be educated in the Cathedral Hall.
1920
Inheritance
Mother Cecilia Cunningham inherited a large fortune from her parents in Argentina. The money was used to purchase three properties and two blocks of land on the eastern side of the Convent. The Barr Smith house in Angas Street was purchased in November and provided additional accommodation for the Sisters. The rest of the house was used by the Novitiate.
1920
Acraman House
Acraman House, located on the eastern side of the convent was purchased. The Dutton-Green house had previously been extended to the rear in 1882 and to the east in 1889. Acraman House was subsequently joined to the convent, but because it was set further back, the architect extended it toward Angas Street to bring the buildings into alignment.
1920 – 1922
Expansion
A number of cottages and small shops were purchased to extend the Angas Street property to Chancery Lane. More properties in Chancery Lane were bought as well as blocks of land on Wakefield Street to extend the College grounds. There was now space for a number of tennis courts.
1922
Cunningham Memorial Chapel
The Cunningham Memorial Chapel was built on the site of the kitchen and laundry of Acraman House and formed part of the eastern side of the present cloisters. The Chapel was named in memory of Mother Cecilia Cunningham’s parents. The St Aloysius High and Boarding School building was extended by demolishing the stables and hayloft of Acraman House and adding another three-story wing.
1925
St Cecilia’s Primary School and Hall
St Cecilia’s Primary School and Hall were erected on the corner of Angas Street and Chancery Lane. Staffed by the Sisters of Mercy, it replaced St Angela’s which had previously been housed in St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral Hall. Both girls and boys from the Cathedral parish were admitted, with boys enrolled only to Year 3. Fees from St Aloysius College subsidised the education of St Cecilia’s students, with the two schools operating side by side.
1954
Mercedes College
The boarders transferred from St Aloysius College to the new Mercy day and boarding school, Mercedes College at Springfield. Strathspey House and its spacious grounds had been purchased by the Sisters in 1953 to overcome the problem of the increasingly overcrowded city school.
1957
St Cecilia’s School closed
St Cecilia’s School was closed and the girls from St Cecilia’s were absorbed into St Aloysius College.
By Carol Grantham,
St Aloysius College Archivist, 2026
You may also be interested in
Catherine McAuley
Buildings
Founding Sisters
References
About Catherine (n.d.). Mercy International Association. https://www.mercyworld.org/catherine/
Astbury, H. (1980). Centenary: The Sisters of Mercy South Australia 1880-1980. Sisters of Mercy Adelaide.
Barr Smith House [Photograph]. (1903). State Library of South Australia PRG 631/2/281. https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+631/2/281
Building and Chapel opening [Photograph]. (1922). State Library of South Australia PRG 280/1/35/19. https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+280/1/35/19
Gall, E. (1903). Convent of Mercy, Angas Street [Photograph]. State Library of South Australia PRG 631/2/1803. https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+631/2/1803
St Cecilia’s Primary School and Hall [Photograph]. (1926). State Library of South Australia B 3408. https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+3408
St Francis Cathedral and School Hall [Photograph]. (1903). State Library of South Australia B 72310. https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+72310
Strathspey, Springfield [Photograph]. (1950). State Library of South Australia B 35990. https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+35990