Friday, July 30, 2010 The Cornerstone Mercy Convent, Cathedral Square July 22, 1856 On this day (July 22, 1856) Bishop John Thomas Mullock laid the cornerstone of the present Mercy Convent, Cathedral Square, St. John’s. It was Bishop Mullock who had previously supervised the completion of the Basilica of John the Baptist. The most interesting feature of the complex is a large M-shaped red stone of polished granite in the exterior or the west wall. Bishop Mullock received the stone from the mother house of the Carmelite Sisters in Spain which was founded by St. Teresa of Avila. The stone was meant to link the Mercy Convent with Mullock's alma mater, the Carmelite University of Salamanca. The original complex has had many additions over the years. The original 1857 chapel, called the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, was replaced by a new chapel in 1892. In 1913 renovations were made to the convent and an extension constructed to provide additional space for a kitchen, refectory and sleeping quarters. In 1921 the Knights of Columbus built the Memorial School to honour of the fallen in the First World War. The last major addition to the complex was the construction of a gymnasium/auditorium. On April 27, 1990, the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador declared Our Lady of Mercy Convent and Chapel a Registered Heritage Structure. For more information on this and other related subjects contact the Archives of the R.C. Archdiocese. Other “Archival Moments” will be posted at this site on a regular weekly basis. If you have friends or colleagues who would like to receive these "archival moments" please send us their e mail address or forward this moment to them from your desk!! Larry Dohey Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s P.O. Box 1363 St. John’s, NL A1C 5M3 709-726-3660 E-mail: archives@nf.aibn.com We hope that you have enjoyed this archival moment.