Mother Borgia Egan, RSM, became Superior of The Sisters of Mercy of Crawford and Erie Counties in 1920. Already a respected educator in the parochial schools of the Diocese of Erie, it was she who crafted the vision for a “college on the hill” in Erie Pennsylvania. That vision came to fruition in the fall of 1926 when the Sisters of Mercy moved from Titusville to Erie to open both the Seminary for Girls (what would become Mercyhurst Preparatory School) and Mercyhurst College.

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Egan, Mother Borgia Egan was born Catherine Egan – in Carbon Run near Scranton in eastern Pennsylvania on March 23, 1885. She was educated in Dubois, Pennsylvania and entered the Sisters of Mercy as a novice at age fourteen.

My nomination of Mother Borgia Egan as an inaugural Erie Hall of Fame member is founded on her contributions that brought to fruition a new college – including campus and faculty in Erie; and her leadership of that institution for thirty years – ensuring that it would be an Erie institution for the ages.

She, with her Sisters of Mercy, found the money, obtained the land, educated a Sisters of Mercy faculty prepared to teach at the college level, and built an outstanding facility. And, she did this on a shoestring and a prayer. In 1926, the college and seminary opened its doors to the girls and women of Erie and beyond. More than any other she had the vision for the college on the hill. Supported by a young Bishop Gannon, she had a vision and brought it to fruition.

Devoted to education, she taught in Mercy schools in western Pennsylvania. She became Principal of St. Catherine’s School in Dubois from 1906 – 1916. In 1918, she was elected Mother Superior of the Sisters of Mercy of Crawford and Erie Counties. Concurrent with that role she was Principal of St. Joseph’s Academy in Titusville. She had the vision- that of founding a college. Mother Eustis Taylor said it as well as it can be said in her seventy fifth anniversary history of the Mercyhurst:

Mercyhurst College lived first in the desire and will of a remarkable woman – Mother M. Borgia Egan.

The first germ of an idea about starting a college in Erie began to take form in 1920 - principally in the mind of Mother Borgia. It began in Titusville, Pennsylvania at the Mother House for the Sisters of Mercy. What was in her mind emerged in a more tangible framework in 1920. The spark, for founding of a college for women in Erie emerges in 1920 on the Golden Anniversary of the order’s presence in western Pennsylvania. For Mother Borgia Egan, the idea of a college founded by the Sisters of Mercy –had to be something about which she dreamed very early on – and it would appear that her experience as a student at Catholic University was a factor in helping to develop that vision.

The story of the effort to build a faculty for Mercyhurst starts while the dream of Mercyhurst College was less than well formed. For Mother Borgia Egan and the Sisters were involved in ensuring that the nuns who taught in the parochial schools had the requisite education to be effective teachers. She knew how to accomplish that goal – for she had been one of the first to take advantage of a new opportunity for the education of the women religious in America. Catholic University opened its doors to the Sisters in July 1911. Mother Borgia Egan, dreaming of a college, began sending as many as thirty nuns to higher education institutions in the early 1920s – many of them (the core of the first faculty at Mercyhurst) studying at the graduate level. Once a decision had been made that there would be both a seminary and a college in Erie, the enterprise of educating nuns to be the faculty continued with increased focus. The university experience for these pioneer nuns whetted their appetites for more. What cannot be stressed enough is that when Mercyhurst opened its doors, there was an educated Sister faculty ready to teach – and with minimal cost to the operating budget of the college. This commitment was recognized in an Erie AAUW publication in which Mother Borgia Egan was featured, when the authors commented that she:
“…sought out the best educational advantages for her teachings sisters, sending them to the finest colleges and universities in the country…”

Someone was planning and doing it well. It was Mother Borgia Egan with the help of the other “Pioneer Sisters.” This effort continued after the college opened its doors. The legacy of teaching nuns educated at nationally recognized colleges and university remained as long as Sisters of Mercy taught at the college.

In December 1920, Mother Borgia met with the Auxiliary Bishop of Erie, John Mark Gannon – the youngest Bishop in the country. He was in Titusville to celebrate the golden anniversary of the Sisters of Mercy of Crawford and Erie Counties. During his visit to the Mother House, he suggested to Mother Borgia that she not carry out a planned expansion in Titusville, but rather, that she “…raise $150,000 and come to Erie.” To do what? He believed that the Sisters could open a parochial school at least. He was concerned that the Sisters had not the resources to open both a parochial school and a college. However, Mother Borgia Egan demonstrated the Sisters’ ability to accrue the resources to do both, and he assented. She was determined to build a college.

When Mother Borgia Egan and the Sisters of Mercy, the “Pioneers,” resolved to create a motherhouse, an academy (a school for girls) and a college in Erie, the work of acquiring both capital and land began. Both tasks were daunting.

In 1921, Mother Borgia Egan, accompanied by Sister Collette (Treasurer) and Sister Pierre came to Erie to search for land. They found their way to a farm south east of the city of Erie. Mother Borgia hesitated at first. The price was high and she was not sure the amount of land available more that was needed – seventy-five acres with a farm house and a barn. She decided to do so. On September 30, 1922, the Sisters of bought the farm (some seventy acres) – for almost $51,000. They spent almost all of the sixty –five thousand dollar reserve the Sisters had accumulated. They had the land. From where would the needed resources come to create something on the hill?

Serious money had to be raised. With the support of Bishop Gannon, Frank Wallace, President of the Second National Bank of Erie suggested that to accomplish their goals of building that the order issue $400,000. The bonds were used as collateral for bank loans that would meet the monthly payments to the contractors. Can one imagine starting a project with no money and nothing upon which the bonds would have collateral today?

Construction took two years; and in September of 1926, the college and seminary opened at the new campus on the hill. By 1928, the college had a Charter from the Commonwealth, and a few years later accreditation from the Middle States Association. In the ensuing years, the college continued to mature.

Mother Borgia Egan served as the college’s first president and then from 1927 on, as dean of the college until 1956. She not only looked after its financial health, she ensured more Sisters were educated to become faculty and developed a curriculum for learning both within and without the classroom. She continued to build the essence of the college experience. She led the development that resulted in Mercyhurst’s reputation and standing. Mother Borgia Egan foundress and the embodiment of the college died on February 11, 1962 at the age of eighty-five. Of Mother Borgia Egan, the Merciad observed that with her:

“…towering stance and ready sense of humor – combined with intellectual prowess make her an unforgettable woman.”

In sum, Mother Borgia Egan opened an operating college ready to educate students from day one in Erie, Pennsylvania in September 1926. She led that college from that time until the 1950s, having established a school that grew in reputation through those years. Mercyhurst educated the young women and girls of all faiths from Erie and some from afar. She made a difference for Erie and those who came to Erie to study. At the requiem mass for her in Christ the King Chapel, Bishop John Mark Gannon said of her:

She made education a glorious and triumphant thing.
 

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