More than 150 sisters came together at the Motherhouse on December 8, 1929, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Sister Mary Baptist Russell and seven Sisters of Mercy from Kinsale, Ireland, landing in San Francisco in 1854. The sisters immediately began ministry to the residents of California in gamf.net health care, education, and social services.
The sisters brought the charism of education to the campus beginning with a groundbreaking ceremony on April 16, 1931, for a four-classroom wing to be added to the Kohl Mansion for the new Mercy High School. A month later prospective pupils of the high school enjoyed a picnic on the grounds. Our Lady of Angels eighth grade girls and girls from Millbrae, San Mateo and Burlingame were present. A tempting lunch was served under the trees near the green.
Mercy High School, Burlingame, opened on August 10, 1931, with 14 students from Our Lady of Angels School and 22 other students from the north Peninsula. The teaching staff included Sister Mary Lorenzo Murphy, principal, and Sisters Mary Angela Huber, Mary de Chantal Perz, and Mary Marcella Burke.
Written by: Liz Dossa, Sister Marilyn Gouailhardou, RSM and Catherine Wilkinson
