TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, Mayor Steve Hass joined the Holy Cross Sisters of Merrill and their associates in the Clare Center gathering room at the Sisters’ residence at 1600 O’Day St. in Merrill near Bell Tower Residence. The Sisters were gathering–along with Sister Dorothee Halbach, a member of their International Leadership Team who traveled from Ingenbohl, Switzerland, for a three-week visit–to kick off their celebration marking the beginning of the Holy Cross Sisters’ 100th year in Merrill, Wisconsin.
Mayor Hass read a proclamation on behalf of the City of Merrill recognizing and noting the many achievements and acts of service the Sisters have performed during their tenure in the community and the many aspects of community life they have worked to improve for Merrill residents through the years.
Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross proclamation
The proclamation read by Mayor Hass reads:
WHEREAS, the Holy Cross Sisters came to Merrill, Wis., on Oct. 24, 1923, at the invitation of the City fathers to start a hospital; and
WHEREAS, in 1923 the Scott Mansion was deeded to the Holy Cross Sisters to be used as the Holy Cross Sisters Convent and Novitiate, and in 1926, the newly-constructed Holy Cross Hospital in Merrill was completed and ready for occupancy, and in 1937, a new chapel was built adjacent to the hospital, and in 1942, a new building for Our Lady of the Holy Cross High School was constructed, and in 1946-1947, a new convent and chapel–Holy Cross Convent and Holy Cross Chapel–was built on the same hill; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, responding to a rising need for elderly care, the Holy Cross Convent and Chapel was converted into an assisted-living facility and renamed Bell Tower Residence where they provide the highest quality senior care to the public; and
WHEREAS, the Holy Cross Sisters have committed themselves to pastoral care, health care, and elder care for the Merrill community; elementary education at St. Robert Bellarmine/St. Francis Xavier Catholic School(s), secondary education at Our Lady of the Holy Cross High School and Merrill High School, and post-secondary education at Holy Cross/Menard Jr. College; and continued to expand, serving on numerous community boards and volunteering with programs to minister to those in need and promoting social consciousness to environmental protection, domestic violence, and anti-human trafficking; and
WHEREAS, the Merrill community is deeply appreciative for the humanitarian services provided through the past 100 years by the Holy Cross Sisters through their numerous ministries to the residents of the City of Merrill,
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Steven Hass, Mayor of the City of Merrill, Wisconsin, do hereby extend sincere congratulations to the Holy Cross Sisters and urge all citizens to join me in this expression of our appreciation for their unselfish dedication to the welfare of our community and extend our best wishes upon the occasion of the beginning of their 100th year in Merrill.
The Holy Cross Sisters and their associates are planning events throughout this coming year to continue their celebration until they can officially declare 100 years in Merrill next year on Oct. 24, 2023!
