Our Catl,otic H erit,ege in Texas
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It is fitting to cite in full the resolution adopted by the City Council of Houston on that occasion. "Whereas, we have in our midst the St. Joseph Infirmary which is under the management and direction of the good Sisters, who devote their lives and services to the task of ameliorating the suffering of humanity ... and Whereas, a great calamity has befallen this noble band in the de- struction by fire of two of their principal buildings, and a greater calamity in the untimely and terrible death that visited its members while heroically striving to save the lives of others ... Resolved, that we, the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Houston, deeply sensible of the affliction that has befallen the Sisters . .. hereby tender to them our heartfelt sympathy and condolence and in so doing feel that as representatives of the City, we voice the sentiments of our entire community. Resolved, that these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the City Council and that a copy be presented Mother St. Louis, inscribed with the signatures of the Mayor and Aldermen." 24 The people of Houston showed their appreciation in more than the Resolution adopted by the City Council. The Houston Daily Post launched a campaign to raise funds for the rebuilding of St. Joseph Infirmary. This found an enthusiastic and immediate response. Thanks to the generous help given them, the Sisters were soon able to acquire a more desirable location on Crawford Street, where a substantial brick building was erected, and which has been occupied by the Sisters since 1895. A training school for nurses was opened in 1905, in keeping with the new trend in hospitalization. The first class at St. Joseph's numbered five, today there are well over a hundred in training each year. The physicians and surgeons assist in the work with lectures and demonstrations. The Training School graduates large classes annually. The work of each de- partment and the instruction imparted are directed entirely by graduate nurse Sisters. Another modern four-story building was erected in 1919 adjoining the main Infirmary, and which was dedicated by Bishop Christopher E. Byrne of Galveston on May 8. A well-appointed new Nurses Home was built in 1950, with all the requisite facilities. St. Joseph's Infirmary is today in all the services it has to offer the equal of any, and has received due recognition from the leading physicians and surgeons of Houston. It enjoys the generous approval and coopera- UCopy of Resolution in Archives of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity and the Incarnate Word in Galveston, Texas.
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