BAY VIEW ACADEMY STUDENTS COMMISSIONED AS FRIENDS OF MERCY

Bay View Academy celebrated its first ever Friends of Mercy commitment ceremony this past September.  Twenty-two fourth and fifth graders from Bay View Academy along with students from Our Lady of Mercy School (East Greenwich) and Mercymount Country Day School (Cumberland), came together to make their formal commitment as Friends of Mercy  in the Bay View Academy Chapel.  The students were accompanied by their families and, following the chapel service, celebrated with a reception on campus.  Principals from all three schools attended the ceremony; Sister Jean Barry (Our Lady of Mercy); Sister Martha Mulligan (Mercymount) and Mrs. Cynthia Lorincz (Bay View).  Also present were representatives from the Sisters of Mercy Northeast Community.

Bay View Academy, Mercymount Country Day School and Our Lady of Mercy School are all affiliated with the Sisters of Mercy, and have long been at least partially staffed by the Sisters themselves and by Mercy Associates.  The Sisters of Mercy are an international community of Roman Catholic women religious, vowed to serve people who suffer from poverty, sickness and lack of education, with a special concern for women and children.  A Mercy Associate is a person who, while maintaining a separate and individual lifestyle, has made a covenant with the Sisters of Mercy to carry out their mission.   

The Friends of Mercy program aims to enhance the awareness of the Mercy tradition among its members and to promote personal and spiritual development in order to lead the students towards the service of others. The students who committed themselves to be Friends of Mercy this past September are the first from Bay View, Mercymount and Our Lady of Mercy.  They began the program this past academic year (2011-2012) by attending monthly meetings moderated by teachers who are themselves Sisters of Mercy and/or Mercy Associates.  The meetings consist of prayer, a teaching centered on mercy and other Christian values, and an act of service towards others.  All Friends of Mercy are encouraged to be leaders in the school community by promoting the values of the Sisters of Mercy.

The five students who were commissioned from East Providence are:

SARAH CLUPNY- Grade FIVE

TAYLOR COUTO - Grade SIX

CAROLINE MAHONEY - Grade SIX

OLIVIA MURRAY - Grade FIVE

GIANNA RUGGIERO - Grade SIX