Thirty Years of Mercy: The Sisters of Mercy and Catholic Responses to the AIDS Crisis in Charlotte, North Carolina

Abstract

Abstract: House of Mercy (HOM), founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1991, offers care for those with HIV/AIDS in Belmont, North Carolina. Using oral histories and contemporary media coverage, this study explores HOM's unique role as a Catholic HIV/AIDS ministry in the rural South. This regional approach provides a novel view of the U.S. Catholic Church's engagement with HIV/AIDS, highlighting the complex relationship between faith-based healthcare, social justice, and the region's cultural and political norms. By examining how HOM navigated systemic challenges and social stigmas, the article explores how the nature of this ministry transformed over the course of the AIDS epidemic. This work contributes to scholarship on Catholic healthcare ministries, the U.S. Catholic Church during the HIV/AIDS era, and the history of Catholicism in the American South.