Heritage Week
Heritage Week is a week long celebration where the University of the Incarnate Word community recalls its heritage and mission. Sponsored by the Office of Mission Effectiveness, Heritage Week highlights the history of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.
The origin story of UIW begins in 1869 with the decision of three French nuns to come to San Antonio, Texas in response to a cholera outbreak. To learn more about their story and UIW's heritage, please visit our About page.
For more information on UIW's mission, please click here.
Heritage Week Schedule
Monday
UIW Recalls Its Heritage and Mission: The initials "CCVI" come from the Latin for "Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word," a congregation of women religious who take the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and dedicate their lives to the ministries of healing, education and serving the poor. Today, their work spans the globe, reaching peoples of different cultures and affirming God's love for all humanity
Tuesday
UIW Recalls Its Heritage and Mission: In the 1860s, the Catholic Bishop of Galveston called for help from the Incarnate Word Sisters in France: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, suffering in the persons of a multitude of sick and infirm of every kind seeks relief at your hands.” In 1869, three young Sisters traveled by stage coach from Galveston to San Antonio and opened Santa Rosa Hospital to “all persons without distinction.”
Wednesday
UIW Recalls Its Heritage and Mission: After founding Santa Rosa Hospital, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word established an orphanage and a school. Training nurses for Santa Rosa Hospital and teachers for their schools eventually led the Incarnate Word Sisters to establish a Catholic high school and college open to young women from South Texas and Mexico. Incarnate Word College later became our university.
Thursday
UIW Recalls Its Heritage and Mission: The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and the University of the Incarnate Word continue the Catholic tradition of reflection on wonders of human knowledge and of advancing it through our own contributions and inspiring innovation and creativity in order to promote the development of the whole persons who go forth “to renew the face of the earth” – to change social structures and bring new life to the human spirit and to the soul.
Friday
UIW Recalls Its Heritage and Mission: The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and the University of the Incarnate Word value the Catholic tradition which proclaims the spirit of community that calls us, as members of the Body of Christ, to respond to one another's needs, a tradition which counts on God's presence among us, attested by Christ's resurrection, giving us the strength and the courage to meet life's difficulties.