Museum celebrating Sisters of Mercy opens
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Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (left), in conversation with Sister Grace Yap, Order of St. Francis (OSF), in the gift shop of the newly opened Alpha Mercy Historical Centre.
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Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange (right), and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Juliet Holness (second right), join Sister Shirley Chung (left) as she points to herself in a picture taken in 2004 of a group of 30 Sisters at Alpha.
The Alpha Mercy Historical Centre, a new museum dedicated to preserving nearly 150 years of service, social development and cultural contribution by the Sisters of Mercy of Jamaica, officially opened on Tuesday at the Alpha Campus in Kingston.
Established partly through a $100-million investment from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), the facility is intended to serve as a cultural and educational resource while strengthening Jamaica’s heritage offering and expanding opportunities for cultural tourism.
The centre uses technology to bring its history to life and features a media room with a historical re-enactment of the institution’s founding, a collection of artefacts and documents, a gift shop, and a memorial wall honouring Sisters who dedicated their lives to service.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said preserving Jamaica’s history was critical to building national identity and confidence.
“We must take the preservation of our history seriously. Our historical buildings, institutions, documents, traditions and stories are part of Jamaica’s national wealth,” he said.
“Once lost, many of them cannot be recovered. Preserving them is, therefore, not an exercise in nostalgia; it is an investment in identity, education and national confidence. Young Jamaicans should know the institutions that helped to shape their country,” the prime minister said.
Holness commended the Sisters of Mercy of Jamaica for creating the museum, describing it as an extension of their longstanding mission to identify and address social needs.
“Before Jamaica had a government-led social welfare system, it was the churches and charitable organisations, institutions like the Sisters of Mercy, that filled the gap and, indeed, provided the social welfare. They educated, they cared for the vulnerable, they created institutions and, above all, they placed service at the centre of their mission,” he said.
He added that the Sisters of Mercy had long championed the principle that a person’s circumstances at birth should not determine their future, and argued that Jamaica should continue building systems that recognise talent and create opportunities for advancement.
TEF Executive Director Dr Carey Wallace said the historical centre would enhance the country’s tourism product by offering visitors a richer cultural experience.
“We want to thank everybody who’s participated. Yes, TEF would have provided the funds, but … you are the ones that really make it happen. You really transform it and, for that, we’re truly grateful,” he said.
“We look at our funds as not grants but investments that we expect to pay off handsomely from the growth in experiential tourism,” he continued.