The Sisters of Mercy came from Ireland to the United States in the 1840s ; six came to Chicago in 1846 , establishing first a high school and then in 1852 a hospital at Rush Street and the Chicago River . It was the first chartered facility in Chicago . In 1859 , Mercy Hospital affiliated with Lind Medical School , and was thus the first Catholic hospital to do so . It had moved to a building at Wabash and Van Buren Streets in the later-named Loop or Central business district of Chicago . Then in 1863 , it moved to 26th Street and Calumet Avenue , a location considered rather far south at the time , away from the populace . The hospital was expanded in 1869 , with its address on Prairie Avenue , a street just east of Calumet and running parallel to it , which proved timely when the Great Chicago Fire happened in 1871 , located outside of the burned area but close enough to help fire victims
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Mercy Hospital and Medical Center