Incarnate Word Sister Stories
The Incarnate Word Sisters have a rich history of service and dedication. From their humble beginnings in France to their pioneering efforts in San Antonio, these women have consistently made a significant impact. This collection of stories explores their lives and contributions, highlighting their unwavering faith, resilience, and dedication to their mission.
Sr. Neomi Hayes, CCVI (1935 - 2017)
She never wavered in her vocation: “I thought ‘this is how I want to spend my life’…I guess one of my main [goals in life] was union with God. Well, that’s a long [journey]. I’m still seeking union with God because that’s a lifelong process.”
Sr. Rosa María Icaza, CCVI, (1925 - 2017)
Was it a mistake or Divine intervention that brought Sister Rosa María Icaza to the United States? The Superior of the Sisters in Mexico City decided to send two young women who had taken English language classes in high school there to study in San Antonio so they could return more fluent in English to teach Mexican students. But somehow the Assistant to the Superior wrote in Rosa María instead of another “Rosa.”
But there’s more to her story.
Sister Theresa McGrath
A Lifelong Commitment
“I didn’t come to Texas particularly to be a teacher or a nurse or whatever. I felt God was calling me to give my life totally to be a sister….Whatever ministry that would involve like that was fine with me. I just said, whatever you want Lord, that’s it…I’m open to that. Because I think you are calling me. I just felt a call to this life.”
Sister Teresa Grabber, CCVI (1930 – 2017)
A Call to Serve
The Postulancy years – the “boot camp” for those young women aspiring to become Sisters – were very trying for Sister Teresa. But she was inspired by a Divine admonition she had read: “I have called you. Once you put your hand to the plow, never turn back.” And she never looked back for the rest of her life.
Sister Mary Cunningham, CCVI (1918-2016)
A New Generation Carries on the Mission
For Sister Mary, that experience mirrors the Mission of the Incarnate Word Sisters across their various ministries: “I am sure that is the way [our] work goes on, I guess. It goes on at the University too, when the sisters are all gone, right? Or when the hospital, all the sisters are gone too. It will have to continue in the lives of people, a new generation. Maybe they’ll be better off. They’ll do better than we did.”
Sister Rita Prendergast, CCVI (1931 -2020)
Their Legacy Lives On
Sister Clement and the other Sisters were evidently holy. “You would see them,” Sr. Rita remembers, “and you’d know…that they were holy….We didn’t talk about it (holiness), but they were doing what they were supposed to do according to the dictates of our rules and our order. It was just obvious that the women were holy. I was really impressed…”
Sisters Mona Smiley, CCVI (1934 - 2014), and Brigida Smiley, CCVI (1937 - 2021)
A Legacy of Service, a Community of Strength
Spiritual support for their Mission endeavors came from many sources, including other Sisters in heaven. To discern whether to take up a new mission, Sister Brigida went to the Incarnate Word Sisters’ cemetery and “asked each one who had died to help me.” She got the spiritual encouragement she needed from her predecessors, and after that, the emotional support from the Sisters in the convent.
Sister Luz Romay, CCVI
Embracing Tradition, Leading Innovation
Throughout her life of service, Sister Luz Romay served God’s people in both traditional and very innovative ways. At first, she followed the path hewed by her fellow Incarnate Word Sisters in Mexico teaching in grade, middle, and high schools and then went on to teach in Catholic and public universities and government education agencies in Mexico. Her experience as leader of the Congregation’s Ministry Council in Mexico merited the recognition and gratitude of her fellow Sisters in 2018.
Sister Germaine Corbin, CCVI
Being deeply spiritual involves being Christ to others in ordinary ways
Sister Germaine returned from a “desert experience” with a determination that the students “had to see Christ in me,” and Sr. Germaine did this in ordinary but meaningful ways: opening every class with a prayer, often for intentions suggested by students, and simply greeting everyone. She let everyone know, “I see you and I am glad to see you.”
Sister Dorothy Batto, CCVI
The Incarnate Word Sisters “had the interests of others…at heart.”
In her work, Sr. Batto relied on traditional Catholic spirituality and new ideas fostered by transpersonal studies, eventually leading her to establish a Sacred Garden where participants examine “…not just their relationship with God, but also what is happening in their relationships with other persons in their life, as well as in their relationships with all of creation and how all of that is continuing to call them to grow and develop as a whole person.”
Our Heritage, Our Difference
By Dick McCracken
Over the past 130 plus years the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio have continued the mission of making a difference in the world as started by the first three young women who came from France after the U.S. Civil War in response to a call for help. All of them were about the same age as a current UIW student.
They had little predictors for success: they spoke little English, had a crash course in nursing skills, no money, and the building promised them burned to the ground while they were enroute from Galveston by stagecoach. But they said yes to a call, had youthful determination and drive, and courage to face anything the Wild West could dish out. Christus Santa Rosa, UIW and IWHS, like the founders, are but three of their legacies.
We understand the why? But the how? is a remarkable history of women, and those with them, who managed to turn the word no into on, as in onward. They truly believed that God would provide if they did their part, and prayer and sacrifice, not blind luck, was their part of the deal. There are literally hundreds of heritage stories of equal value and importance. The following mini biographies are only a few snapshots of remarkable women in our history. Some perhaps more outspoken than others, but all made a difference and touched lives profoundly. This is their legacy and your inheritance.
