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TheBrothers of Our Lady of Mercy, or in fullBrothers of Mercy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (F.M.M.), are a Catholicreligious institute.
The institute was founded atMechlin (Flanders, capital of theecclesiastical province coinciding with Belgium) in 1839 by CanonVictor Scheppers (1802 - 1877) for the instruction and care of prisoners and of the sick. They were invited to S. Balbina inPerugia byCardinal Pecci, afterwardsLeo XIII, who had witnessed their work while he wasnuncio in Belgium atBrussels. It was at his instance thatPius IX confirmed the institution of the brothers in 1854.[1] A few years before,Xavier de Mérode had been appointed to a papal office which entailed the direction of the Roman prisons. Historians have documented Mérode's efforts to improve the penitentiary system in Rome. Mérode adapted some of the concepts of Belgian reformerÉdouard Ducpétiaux. He also brought some of the Brothers of Mercy from Mechelen to Rome to assist in this work.[2]
In 1855Cardinal Manning invited them to London, where they have undertaken the care of the prisoners in Catholic reformatories and the education of the children of the poor.[1]
They are under simple vows and the term of the novitiate is two years. They wear a blackhabit andscapular with a brown cross on the breast.[1]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Brothers of Our Lady of Mercy".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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