Sister Mary Scullion, RSM | Photo © Irish Edition
Sister Mary Scullion, a member of the Sisters of Mercy, Mid-Atlantic Community and a Philadelphia resident, was recently chosen as one of the top 100 influential people by Time magazine. Sister Mary was ranked 49th on the list with 613,599 votes, according to the Time magazine Web site.
Sister Mary, 55, co-founder and director of Project H.O.M.E. (Housing, Opportunities for Employment, Medical Care, Education) since 1989, grew up in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia where she attended St. Martin’s School and Little Flower High School. She is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University and Temple University. “I am profoundly grateful and moved by this honor,” she said. “But the crucial message is the urgent need to respond to those men, women, and children who are still on our streets and in our shelters. I urge all persons to get involved to advocate, donate, and volunteer. Find an organization that does effective work in developing housing and services for people who are homeless, and offer financial support as well as your time and talent.”
According to Time’s web site, Sister Mary Scullion has helped to cut the homeless rate in Philadelphia in half. Ninety-five percent of the people who receive services from Project H.O.M.E. are able to stay off the streets.
Sister Mary entered the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, PA, in 1972, and professed her temporary vows in 1975. Five years later, she professed her life-long vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and service to the poor, sick and ignorant. This fourth vow of a Sister of Mercy of service motivates each sister to extend the mercy of God to others as she reaches out to those most in need in the world.
Initially, Sister Mary taught at St. Malachy School in North Philadelphia and worked at Mercy Hospice, a shelter for homeless women and children in Philadelphia. Before she co-founded Project H.O.M.E., she founded Women of Hope which provides residential care to women in Philadelphia with serious mental illness, many of whom were formerly homeless.