St Catharine's Convent, Edinburgh

In 1831, the Sisters of Mercy were founded in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 1849, Sisters of Mercy from Limerick came to Glasgow to found a community in Garnethill (now part of St Aloysius' College). They were invited by the Bishop James Gillis, the Apostolic Vicar of the Eastern District of Scotland to found a convent in Edinburgh. In 1860, they moved into Lauriston.

The building was originally designed by David Cousin. It was built in 1860. In 1887, the convent was expanded and a church was added. It was called St Catharine's Church. The extensions and church were designed by the architect Archibald Macpherson (1851–1927).[1] He was an ecclesiastical architect who mainly worked on Catholic churches and schools such as Sacred Heart, Edinburgh, St Aloysius Church, Glasgow, St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and St David's Church, Dalkeith.[2] In 1892 he made further alterations to the church building.[1]

In 1865, sisters from the convent founded a training college for Catholic teachers that would later become St Thomas of Aquin's High School. In 1886, it became an all-girl school, called St Thomas of Aquin's College. In 1975, boys were admitted to the college. In 2002, the college moved to a new building and became St Thomas of Aquin's High School.[3]

In 1891, the Sisters of Mercy in Scotland expanded and bought the ruined remains of a pre-Reformation Franciscan monastery in Elgin, Moray, they restored them and it became Greyfriars Sisters of Mercy Convent in Elgin.[4]

In 1992, the general chapter of the Sisters of Mercy designated St Catharine's Convent a Mercy Centre.[5] It has the mission of supporting the local homeless and disadvantaged population of the city. As of 2022, it welcomes up to 200 people a day. On 11 July 2022, its director Sister Aelred Timmins was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Edinburgh in recognition of the centre's work.[6][7]