Om· Catltolic Heritage in Texas
the early 189o's the north wing was added, and the south wing in 1902. The Academy was growing in spite of its apparently remote location, for the city was expanding rapidly in that direction. In 1907 a new chapel and an auditorium was put up. A few years later the building on the corner of Bryan and St. Joseph was erected as a Novitiate, later to become the grade school, and ultimately the laundry. In 1942 a twenty-eight acre tract on Walnut Hill Lane was bought to which the upper division of the Academy was transferred. It became known as Merici High School. The daughters of St. Ursula, adapting themselves well in everything, obtained permission to teach boys and are today conducting the parish schools of Sacred Heart, St. Patrick, and Christ the King. At the request of Bishop E. J. Dunne, the Ursulines took.charge of the Orphanage on two occasions, until Sisterhoods established for this purpose could be se- cured. In 1906, when it became necessary to have a Central Novitiate for the Roman Union of Ursulines, the Dallas Community, a charter member, offered hospitality to the novices of the Southern houses. In 1918 they opened the first kindergarten in the city. 30 The Most Reverend Bishop Joseph P. Lynch said of them in 1949: "For three quarters of a century now, the Ursuline Nuns have consistently contributed to the cultural, moral, and physical development of children and young women in this area and, thereby, to the spiritual growth of the Church." 31 Franciscan. Brotleers, O.S.F., z859. Bishop Odin was most anxious to promote Catholic education in his new diocese. Since his first visit as Vice-Prefect to Texas in 1838, he had longed for Catholic schools. When he first saw the old San Antonio missions the thought occurred to him that they could, without too much difficulty, be converted into "academies" for girls and "colleges" for boys. He met a Franciscan Brother in Penn- sylvania in 1849 and proposed that his congregation undertake the found- ing of Catholic schools in Texas. Brother Jerome Ryan, O.S.F., of Loretto, Columbia County, Pennsyl- vania, became interested in the invitation. Early in the summer of 1850, prior to his sailing home to Ireland, he made a trip to Galveston to dis- cuss the proposal in all its details. Bishop Odin unfortunately was not at home. Brother Ryan talked the matter over with Father Richard Hen- soursuline Academy of Dallas, Diamond Jubilee, 1874-1949 [pp. 10-12] . 31Most Reverend Joseph P. Lynch to Venerable Miriam, O.S.U., January 10, 1949. Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Diamond Jubilee, 1374-1949 [p. 3].
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