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Katherine Russell left Ireland in 1854 to lead six Sisters of Mercy to the first Mercy foundation in the West.  Known then as Mother Baptist, she arrived in San Francisco to establish a remarkable ministry of hospital work, prison visitation, housing for young women, and education.  In 1863, sisters arrived in the northern mining town of Grass Valley and established a school.  Because so many children were left orphaned by fatal accidents in the mines, the sisters agreed to care for them in an orphan asylum.

Some years later, Frances Warde sent seven sisters to Yreka, California, to found St. Joseph's Academy for Young Ladies.  By 1882, the sisters moved from Yreka to Red Bluff, continuing their service in schools and at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. 

The California foundations flourished and became independent, with sisters staffing many parish schools, academies for girls, hospitals, and orphan asylums.

Today the Sisters of Mercy of the Omaha Regional Community remain in Red Bluff.  They also work in parishes, schools, and social and health care services in other parts of California, including Chula Vista and San Francisco.