CHAPTER IX
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE WORK
The social action program of the Church is not a recent innovation or activity. The relief of suffering, the care of the poor, and the social welfare r.f the people have long constituted the basis of Christian charity so elo- quently lauded by our Lord as the greatest of the three cardinal virtues. In Texas its practice goes back to the introduction of our faith by the first missionaries who built the missions in the El Paso area, in East Texas, and in San Antonio more than two centuries ago. "The mind cannot but marvel at the work of those early pioneers of the Faith in Texas. They did not confine themselves to religious in- struction, the administration of the sacraments, and the saying of Mass, but in addition to this they found time to give the Indians vocational training, to teach them animal husbandry, to operate infirmaries and hospitals in each of the missions in San Antonio. and to acquaint them with the fine arts, such as painting, sculpture. music and singing. San Jose had a swimming pool for soldiers and Indians. Eloquently the missions exemplified the special action program of the Church in its fullest extent." 1 Numerous Catholic hospitals dot the ]and today, each an eloquent testi- monial to the devotion of the many holy women who have dedicated them- selves to the service of the poor, the ailing and the unfortunate. /nfwmal Beginnings of Cnt/wlic Hospital Work. It was the Ursulines of Galveston, who as early as 1847, had to weather yel1ow fever epidemics and nurse the students and the members of their order. They opened the first hospital to the public in Texas in response to an emergency. With the outbreak of War Between the States, the Sisters offered to the authori- ties of Galveston on September IO, 1861 the use of the new wing of their academy that had just been completed. At the same time several members of the community volunteered their services as nurses. The number of students had dwindled to a handful as the result of the threat of war and the community had a few Sisters to spare. It was they who looked after the sick in the first base hospital in Texas. laboring- unselfishly during the year 1861-1862. Then, on January I, 1863, the long expected naval attack upon the 1 Carlos E. Castaneda, "Pioneers of the Church in Texas," Archdloetse of San Antonio, D;amond Jubilee, 1874-1949, pp. 3-4. [359]
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