Catkolic Educational E11d-eavQrS
rich harvest of gifts to help furnish and equip the enlarged quarters in 1885. The Altar Society of Fouviere had been most generous. Among the sundry articles was a beautiful painting of the Crucifixion, which hung for a long time over the main altar of St. Patrick's Church. In 1909, after consent was given by Bishop Verdaguer, a long needed and desired chapel was built for the convent, which enabled the Sisters to follow their devotions more regularly. It was in 1921 that modern con- veniences were finally installed in the convent and Academy, thanks to the interest of Bishop E. B. Ledvina. Through his intercession, too, the old Kenedy home on Broadway in Corpus Christi was turned over to the Sisters and there they opened the reorganized High School in 1924, which was granted full affiliation the following year by the State Board of Education. To Bishop Ledvina, the Corpus Christi community of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament are also indebted for the nine-acre tract on Alameda Boulevard where they have built their splendid, modern convent and Academy. 50 Academically, the school had received formal recognition in 1885 when the Texas State Legislature granted it a charter of incorporation and authorized it to confer diplomas. Although the highest standards were maintained, the enrollment, which had risen from eighty-two in 1885 to over two hundred in 1890, decreased somewhat because of the larger educational facilities of the growing city. There were some who complained of the quality of teaching. Father Jaillet, a judicious man, demonstrated publicly in 1891 at a public examination for certification by students of various schools in the city-he was on the Board of Examiners-how much better prepared the students from the Academy were. No more com- plaints were heard. 51 The cloistered nature of the Order had prevented the teaching Sisters from taking full advantage of teacher's training programs. Mother Angelique has wisely observed that "Since the dawn of the twentieth cen- tury, the ever-increasing educational requirements of teaching institu- tions have presented ... to teaching communities throughout the country many problems that have been difficult of solution.... These conditions have put an extra strain upon the Sisters." With the gracious dispensation of the Bishop, Sisters Antoinette and St. Bernard were the first to be permitted to attend a normal school organized by Our Lady of the Lake 5 °Facts extracted from Sister M. Xavier Holworthy, Diamonds for tA1 Ki,,g, pp. 56-84. 51 /bid., 68.
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