Dublin: Graduation of Mercy Emerging Leaders

This year's graduates

On Wednesday 3 September 2025, the Fellows from Cohort Four of the MGA Mercy Emerging Leaders Fellowship graduated from their year-long programme. The ceremony took place in the International Room of Mercy International Centre in Dublin in the presence of family and friends of the graduates as well as people from the Mercy World in person and online.

The graduates are:

Elizabeth Blom, Australia
Charlotte Cummings, New Zealand
Jewellyn Enemecio, Philippines
Fozia Gulab, Pakistan (in abstentia)
Jessica Marshall, Australia,
Mai Nguyen, Australia
Luciah Njogu, Kenya
McKenna Smith, USA
Sarah Terry, South Africa
Teresa Vaughan, New Zealand
Maria Pearson (Cohort Three)

The Mercy Global Action Emerging Leaders Fellowship is a transformational experience for women who are passionate about advancing Mercy and Justice. It is an initiative of Mercy Global Action (MGA), the justice arm of Mercy International Association.

This international women's leadership program is fully funded and unique in the ways it provides opportunities for Fellows to establish strong links and networking across the Mercy World through international encounters, webinars and modules, mentorship and other activities.

The Fellowship program has been designed to stimulate creative and critical thinking, promote collaborative leadership and inspire personal reflection leading to a compassionate and communal response to current concerns of our world.

Speaking at the Graduation Ceremony, Mary O'Donovan, CEO of Mercy International Association, said: "Today we celebrate not only the completion of a rigorous and deeply transformative journey, but also the emergence of a new generation of women committed to leading with compassion, courage and conviction.

"This programme has called you to think boldly, lead collaboratively, discern ethically, and act with integrity. And you have responded with grace and determination. Your work stands as a testament to what is possible when women - lay and vowed alike - are empowered to lead across every sector of society."

There have been Four Cohorts of the MELF Programme to date, and the Fellows from Cohort Four have spent the last fortnight in Dublin for their immersion experience, one of three that they complete as part of the MELF program (they also complete one in Cambodia and one at the UN in New York).

During their immersion experience in Dublin they have been following in the footsteps of Catherine McAuley, Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, in the places and spaces associated with her life. They have also visited Coolock House (where Catherine lived), the Hermitages in Glendalough, completed Catherine's Walking Tour of Dublin and visited the Glor na Mara Community in Donegal.

One of the requirements of the MELF Programme is the presentation of a piece of research to their peers and to the Mercy World. This was the focus of Week Two of their time in Dublin. This year's topics focused on a pertinent justice issue related to the Degradation of Earth and/or the Displacement of Peoples.

The keynote address was given by Patricia Lambert. Patricia is a passionate South African human rights lawyer and social justice advocate. She recently retired as a Vice President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington, DC. From 1994 until 2006, Patricia worked as a legal adviser to the South African cabinet during the presidency of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. Her briefs in that role included the public health, justice and constitutional development and the promotion and protection of human rights, including the rights of women, workers and children.

Addressing the Fellows, Patricia urged them to use their voice, their actions and influences to foster inclusion. She also said that it is their awareness and empathy that will truly make a difference in the world. Patricia finished her address to the fellows by reading Seamus Heaney's poem From the Republic of Conscience, a poem which emphasises the centrality of conscience in the conduct of human affairs.

In her message to the graduates Sr Angela Reed RSM, said: "This graduation is not an ending, but a milestone along a lifelong journey of Mercy leadership and justice. the path ahead will take many turns, but you now walk it with the strength of a global community and the wisdom you have gained together. May you continue to reach out, to share insights, and to accompany one another in this work of Mercy."

LINK

Mercy World: www.mercyworld.org