HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE INFANT JESUS
& MERCY MEDICAL CENTER

The Congregation of the Infant Jesus had its beginnings in 1835 in Neufchatel, France.  It established its Motherhouse in LeMans, France in 1888.  In the early 1900's, due to religious persecutions in France and in order to attempt to preserve the community, some members were sent to Belgium and some to England.  In 1905 three French speaking members of the Congregation came to the United States.   The three women who landed in Brooklyn on October 21, 1905 were women of courage, faith and adventure.  They were also strangers, afraid, unsure and foreign.  They were alone on the pier that day, waiting to be met after all other passengers had gone.  A young boy selling apples on the pier, seeing them alone, approached and gave each one an apple.  It was the first gesture of hospitality and welcome they had received in this new world.

The three Sisters began to nurse the sick and the poor in their own homes in Brooklyn, NY.  From these three women, the Congregation grew and established Mercy Hospital in 1913.  This 16-bed sanitorium on 5 acres of land in Hempstead was purchased by the Congregation of the Infant Jesus and the first Catholic hospital on Long Island came to be.  It has grown to 387 beds, providing signature services, caring and compassion for all who come through its doors in search of healing.

The story still lives on every October 21st and all patients and staff receive an apple in a continuing reminder of the importance in life of being welcomed and treated with even a small kindness.