011r C atl1oli& Heritage in Texas
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the faculty and students moved into a new, well equipped, modern building. 99 Saint Nic/1.()las' Sc/tool. This school for the Colored children in Hous- ton was opened originally in 1887 and was tended by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word until the Sisters of the Holy Family took it over in 1905. Father Charles Reilly, the pastor, built a convent for the Sisters before their arrival. After the parish property was sold in 1919, a new site was purchased on Belle Avenue and St. Charles Streets and two stucco build- ings put up, one a combination church and school and the other a convent for the Sisters. Mass was first said in the second church of St. Nicholas on its new location on September 19, 1920. A brick church building was built later and dedicated in 1923. The old church and school was likewise replaced by a new, modern school and convent combination in August, 1931. When school opened in September, it had both grammar and high school departments. In 1935, the high school was fully accredited by the Texas Board of Education. In 1946, the school of St. Nicholas for the Colored had a total enrollment of 568 students. 100 The School of Holy Redeemer Parish for Negroes in San Antonio was originally built by Father Welbers, S.S.J., in 19n. It was put in charge of the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1914. From a handful of students, it has developed into a first class grammar school with an enrollment of over 225. In 1949 a kindergarten was added and has proved a great success. Its school band in open competition won a trophy in 1948 among bands of its class. 101 In 1914 also, the Sisters of the Holy Family opened a school at Ames, Texas, which is doing good work. A school was opened by the Sisters in Corpus Christi in 1926 but it was discontinued in 1928. Our Mother of Mercy Church, the second Negro parish to be established in Houston, was founded in 1929, and in 1931 the Sisters of the Holy Family were asked to take charge of the parish school. It now boasts of having both grammar and high school divisions and a modern auditorium. Its enrollment in 1947 was over 430 students. 102 The latest establishment of the Sisters of the Holy Family is a school opened in Marshall, Texas, in 1945. Quietly, this Congregation has been
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t9/bid., 45. 100 / bid., 7 5. 101Archdlocese of San Antonio, Golden /11bilee, 1874-1949, p. 139. 10:mocese of Galveston, op. cit., 76.
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