A crowd gathers for the opening ceremony for Mercy General Hospital on Feb. 11, 1925.
Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California, is marking the centennial of its opening at its current location.
The hospital, which is part of CommonSpirit Health's Dignity Health, held a commemoration ceremony in February and plans to host additional events to mark the milestone in the coming year.
Members of the Sisters of Mercy congregation gather in front of Mercy General, circa 1980s.
According to a timeline on Mercy General Hospital's website, the Sisters of Mercy arrived by steamboat in Sacramento in 1857 to begin their ministry in California's capital. In
1895, they agreed to purchase a small sanitarium that a doctor had started locally. Two years later, the sisters opened Sacramento's first hospital, Mater Misericordiae Hospital — the name is Latin for "Mother of Mercy." Over time, it was determined
that facility did not meet the community's needs, despite several expansions, and that it was a "firetrap."
Sr. Katherine Doyle of the Sisters of Mercy congregation speaks at a centennial celebration in February for Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California.
A history brochure Mercy General created for its anniversary says that in 1919, Mother Mary Michael Irwin, superior of the Sisters of Mercy, and several other Mercy sisters scouted out a new location. They purchased a swampy dairy farm for $18,837 and
transformed the property into a medical center, nursing school and convent that opened in 1925. Mercy General remains at that location today.
In 1934, during the Great Depression, the hospital opened a clinic for impoverished children. That clinic was funded by donations, and doctors volunteered their time to treat clinic patients. In the 1940s, city leaders persuaded the sisters of the urgency
to expand to meet the growing needs of the community. A citywide fundraising campaign met its goal in six weeks.
The ensuing decades have brought additional expansions as well as investments into clinical centers of excellence, including Mercy General's cardiology and cardiovascular center.
Sr. Clare Dalton, RSM, vice president, mission integration for Mercy General Hospital, says the Sisters of Mercy congregation is proud to celebrate with the physicians, staff, and volunteers. She says the sisters "are grateful to the donors and supporters
— past and present — who have contributed to the flourishing of the health care healing ministry over the many years."
Today, Mercy General is a 313-bed hospital with 2,200 employees and a medical staff of 1,000.
Students from Sacred Heart Parish School in Sacramento sing "Let There Be Peace on Earth" at a February anniversary celebration for Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento.