April 10 dedication ceremony at Mercy

A bronze sculpture depicting the likeness of Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, now stands proudly just outside Mercy Medical  Center‘s Hall-Perrine Cancer Center, in Cedar Rapids.   The statue, with outstretched hands, was created to greet and offer comfort and hope to patients and families who come to the center for care.

The sculpture was dedicated and blessed at a ceremony on Tues., April 10.  The ceremony was held outside the entrance to the new Hall-Perrine Cancer Center, located adjacent to Mercy Medical Center, 701 10th Street SE.

The commissioned piece of art is sponsored by the Jack and Dilla Cosgrove family, of Cedar Rapids.  Jack, a member of Mercy’s Board of Trustees and a retired executive with Rockwell Collins, and his wife, Dilla, a long time Mercy volunteer, were accompanied by their children and grandchildren at the ceremony. Also in attendance were 23 Sisters of Mercy. It is the Sister’s tireless dedication and selfless devotion to the poor and the sick that started Mercy Hospital over 110 years ago.

At the base of the sculpture is a quote from Catherine McAuley, “Put your whole confidence in God; He will never let you want.” Sister Susan O’Connor, Vice President of Mission Integration, and Tim Charles, President & CEO of Mercy Medical Center, led the brief ceremony.

The statue’s sculptor is Jordan Wanner, Wanner Sculpture Studio in Milwaukee.

Jack Cosgrove stands alongside Mercy