Our Catholic Heritage in. T exa..r
33 2
There being little use to renew the effort in the new ruined port town Clf Indianola, the Sisters decided to go to Refugio, Texas, at the invita- tion of the parish priest, where they arrived on October 7, 1875, and there established their first permanent convent and opened a school for boys and girls. In 1890 the private school was converted into a public school, but in 1916 the Sisters established Mercy Academy, which they operated until 1940, when Mercy Academy became Our Lady of Refugio Parochial School. Beginning with a school in Penitas opened in 1907, the Sisters of Mercy have been among the pioneers of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. They have schools in Mercedes, Mission, McAllen, Edinburg, Harlingen, and Rio Grande. They also agreed to teach in the public schools in Roma (Texas), where they served for over twenty-five years. In 1929 the Sisters of Mercy of Southwest Texas were amalgamated with the Sisters of Mercy of the Union of the United States. The No- vitiate, which had been established in Laredo in 1899, was transferred to St. Louis, Missouri.u Sisters of Mercy i1i West Texas, I894. Another group of the Sisters of Mercy from San Francisco came to Texas in 1894 and established themselves in Stanton, Martin County. Stanton was then known as Marien- feld. The two pioneers in West Texas were Sisters M. Berchmans Kast and M. Angela Hestetter. Their principal work has been to conduct hos- pitals, schools, orphanages, and homes for girls. The growth and develop- ment of the Congregation in West Texas was slow for lack of workers. During the first twenty years they had to depend on volunteers from Ireland to carry on their work. In the early days, they had schools in Big Spring, Pecos, Fort Stockton, Slaton, and Menard. The schools in Pecos and Fort Stockton were chiefly for Mexican children, as was one founded in Amarillo. In 1938 a cyclone struck the original foundation in Stanton and ruined the old Motherhouse beyond repair. It was decided to move it to Slaton. The old members of the Congregation transferred before the end of the year to the new headquarters. Lack of personnel caused them to abandon the schools in Menard, Bi.~ Spring. Fort Stockton, Pecos, and Stanton. Since them, the Sisters have opened a small school in Groom. some forty miles from Amarillo, and one in Umbarger, also near Amarillo. ''We are 11 Summary from brief sketch sent to the Author bv Sister M. Lawrence, R.S.M., Superior, Mercy Hospital, Laredo, Texas, prepared by the historian of the Order. Copy in C. A. T. The Ho~pltal work of the Sisters will be dlscus!\ed in another chapter.
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