286
011,r Catholic IIerit(l.ge in T c:i:as
Odin escorted to Galveston seven Sisters on board the Pa/.met/,Q. The party sailed on January 16, 1847, for "the pirate-haunted isle," not to hunt treasures but to impart a Christian education to Catholic and non-Catholic alike. The seven brave pioneers of Catholic education and Christian culture were Mother St. Arse Blin, superioress; Sisters St. Bruno, St. Stanislaus, St. Ambroise, St. Angelas, St. Ursula and St. Augustine, the last named destined to become better known as Mothe1· Mary Xavier, lived to the ripe age of ninety-one. 3 Two days later they arrived in Galveston, where they were welcomed by Mesdames Blossman and Lacey, who took the Sisters to their homes for the first night in Texas. The next morning, on January 19, 1847, they were placed in possession of old Judge Love's residence, which had been hurriedly dusted and sparsely furnished after two years of waiting. The noble champions of women education in Texas were deeply moved by the warm, bright fire they found burning in the main living room of the forlorn mansion when they arrived. Bishop Odin and two of his priests had done all they could to make them feel at home in their new abode. The Sisters immediately set to work to make their quarters ready for the opening of the Academy, which, in spite of all diligence, could not be inaugurated until February 8. But January 19 remains, after more than a hundred years, Founda- tion Day, and is observed each year, by the singing of the Lau.date Domimmi by the whole community,' as was done that first cold day in 1847. Early De--,.1elcpment and Difficulti.es. The school was opened on Feb- ruary 8, 1847, and twenty-five pay students were enrolled the first day, not counting a few charity or gratis students. But soon the number in- creased to sixty, due largely to the high esteem in which the Sisters were held as teachers by everybody in Galveston. Although boarding students had not been contemplated in the beginning, plans to take them were soon made in view of the insistent applications received by Bishop Odin for their admission. 5 The general course of instruction embraced "the English and French languages, Reading, Writing, Grammar and Composition, Sacred and 3 The list and name of the ship are given in Urs11li11e Academy, So,rvenir of tlu Diamond /11bilee, 3. In the booklet on the Centennial, the date of sailing is given as January 14, evidently a misprint. ~Ursuline Academy, Centenn;a/, 1847-1947 [6] . SThe date of opening is given a.,; January in Friesenhahn, o,;. cit., 16, but in the Centennial, 1847-1947, it is specifically given as February 8, as set down in the records of the Convent.
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