Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of Mercy

Because the founding of religious convents was not legal at that time, Zwijsen set up the firm of Verbunt & Co. as a front for the property and the work being carried out from there.

[2] Zwijsen's accession to the see gave fresh impetus to his cherished work, and from that time the congregation spread rapidly throughout the Netherlands and Belgium.

[2] About the middle of the nineteenth century, when cholera was raging in the Netherlands, the heroic charity of the sisters even won the recognition of the fiercely anti-catholic King William III who conferred decorations of honour on the congregation.

The site lay derelict for a number of years and was damaged by fire in 1985, but has since been partly demolished and the remainder restored as luxury accommodation.

Their mission is "to live a life rooted in the Gospel, in imitation of Mary and expressed by prayer, charity, self sacrifice and loving obedience."

They devote themselves to "the works of charity, and as true daughters in the heart of the Church, we serve others through the apostolates of education, caring for the sick, the aging and the poor, wherever there is a need."

The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church continue to operate a nursing home St. Elizabeth's in WI, and the Academy of the Holy Family, an all girls Catholic high school in Baltic, CT.