Ou,· Catltolic Heritage in Texas
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&tudents. The curriculum included music, painting, penmanship and needle work in addition to the traditional subjects of Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Language instruction was given in French and German. Growth and Development of t/t.e Victoria C01mmmity. Notwithstand- ing an early visitation of the chronic epidemic of the coastal region, which took Sister Claudine Pauley, a native of New Braunfels, admitted the day of the arrival of the founders, and Louise Perchc, a postulant, the Victoria Community grew. Providence sent five new members to replace them. From France came Sisters Antoinette, St. Michael, and St. Laurence, and two postulants from Ireland, Anne Dillon (later Sister Gabriel), and May Campbell (later Mother Frances) . 44 The next few years saw new postulants join the Order." 5 Between 1867 and 1873 the facilities of the humble convent and school were improved by the addition of a chapel, a reception room and a two-story frame building, to which a small kitchen was added. But the increase in students and the growth of the community made more room necessary. Two new brick buildings were begun in 1872, to serve as class- rooms and partly as dormitories for the large number of boarding students. Although substantial and well built, the cost of the two was $8,556.94." 6 A frame building was added in 1885 and in 1904 the whole plant was temodeled. One of the brick buildings of 1872 was razed and a modern structure put up on Church Street. At the same time, the site of the old convent was exchanged for that of old St. Mary's Church, together with the materials of the former temple, and on its location the new convent was begun. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop Forest of San Antonio on July 5, 1904, and the sermon was preached by Father I. Tiernan, S.J ., of Galveston. The Stations of the Cross for the new Chapel were given by John Wood and the pews were donated by Mr. and Mrs. John Welder, besides a $1,000.00 gift. The saintly Father Gardet, who had given his own home to the Sisters when they first came to Victoria, left them a ltgacy of $12,000.00, which contributed to the completion of the new convent and Chapel. 47 ""Sister Antoinette left a Diary. Her account of the train-ox-cart trip from Gal- veston to Victoria is astonishing. Accompanied by Bishop Dubuis they set out on the train, had two derailments in two days as the result of a wet norther, and finally rode in ox-carts through the mud to their destination. For details and a biography of Sister Antoinette, see Nazareth Academy, Diamo11d /-ubilee, 1866-1941, pp. 81-82. 45Parisot and Smith, o'f>. cit., 98-99. "The Victoria Annals, cited in Holworthy, o'f>. cit., 42. 47Holworthy, o'f>. &iJ., 47-48.
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