Incarnate Word Heritage – New Needs Require Attention and New Ministries

The Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word began caring for children when mothers died at the hospital. This prompted the Sisters to launch an orphanage, St. Joseph’s (1874), despite having little public support. To remedy this, Sister Mary of Jesus Noirry donned a straw hat, threw an army overcoat over her religious habit, slipped on some heavy boots, packed a pistol in her satchel, and accompanied by one of the older orphaned boys, scoured the countryside in a horse and buggy seeking financial support. Her sorties across South Texas for almost a decade saved the orphanage and earned her the title of “Heroine of the Prairies.” As St. Joseph’s grew, the orphaned children needed schooling, and soon the Sisters opened schools for these and other children, including the girls’ school in the San Fernando parish. The hospital, the orphanage, and the grade schools responded to the needs of God’s sons and daughters making real His presence among the people of San Antonio.

Sister Margaret Patrice Slattery narrates this unfolding story.