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Thursday, November 9, 2000 the Diocese The Southern Cross, Page 7 Blessed Sacrament Parish, Savannah Youth throw Halloween party for Saint Mary’s Home The Catholic Youth Ministry of Blessed Sacrament Parish threw a Halloween party for the children of Saint Mary’s Home, Savannah, on October 29. The chil dren—and youths— dressed up for the occa sion and seemed to enjoy the hijinks. Photos by Jonas N. Jordan. Sister Theresa Mary Sumner celebrates Golden Jubilee Sister Theresa Mary Sumner, RSM, stands in front of Saint Mary’s Home, Savannah, with members of her family on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of her religious pro fession. Savannah native Rose Mary Sumner entered the Sisters of Mercy at 19 years of age. She made her profes sion two years later in Baltimore, taking the name “Theresa Mary.” She has devoted her life to the care of children, starting at a boys’ orphanage and coming to Saint Mary’s Home in 1968. The first Sisters of Mercy arrived in Savannah in 1845 at the request of Father Jeremiah F. O’Neill, Sr., pastor of the Church of Saint John the Baptist. The six women came from a religious community founded by Charleston Bishop John England in 1829, under the title “Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy.” Within ten days, they opened a boarding school for girls (now Saint Vincent’s Academy), an orphanage and a day school for boys and girls. In 1892, the Savannah sisters affiliated with the Sisters of Mercy founded by Catherine McAuley in Ireland to serve the needs of homeless and abused women and children in Dublin. Saint Mary’s Home is a diocesan facility for chil dren who cannot live with their parents.