SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 413
WHEREAS, Supporters of Incarnate Word Academy in
Brownsville are gathering on June 3, 2023, to celebrate a legacy
of service that has spanned 170 years; and
WHEREAS, One of the first schools in the Rio Grande Valley,
the academy was founded by four sisters of the Incarnate Word and
Blessed Sacrament; they traveled to Brownsville from Lyon,
France, at the behest of the first Catholic bishop of Texas, the
Most Reverend Jean M. Odin; the French-speaking sisters, Claire
Valentine, Ange Barré, Ephrem Satin, and Dominique Ravier, spent
a few months in Galveston learning English and Spanish before
proceeding to their new home; in order to provide textbooks to
their pupils, they purchased a used printing press; and
WHEREAS, The school rented a small, four-room frame house
before moving to Fronton Street at the end of 1853; students
hailed from Brownsville, other cities in the Rio Grande Valley,
and Matamoros, Mexico; the sisters faced many challenges, from
yellow fever epidemics to bandit raids; in 1867, a hurricane all
but demolished the building, and the school was nearly forced to
close, but the local community and Bishop Claude Dubois came
together to raise funds for a new convent and school, built on
East Saint Charles Street; and
WHEREAS, By 1885, high school instruction became available
at Incarnate Word; the new Villa Maria High School was completed
on Jefferson Street in 1926; growth continued in subsequent
decades, and in the 1960s, elementary instruction moved to
buildings on Resaca Boulevard, purchased from the former
Harlingen Air Force Base and renovated; a new high school was
built on the Resaca campus in 1971, while the junior high
transferred to the old Villa Maria facility; and
WHEREAS, Villa Maria High School closed in the early 1990s;
Incarnate Word Academy then served elementary and middle school
students at the Villa Maria campus, while the old IWA barracks
became home to the new Villa Maria Language Institute; in order
to invest in much-needed updates and improvements, the sisters
sold much of their property to the neighboring hospital; and
WHEREAS, The new century has brought many changes to the
education landscape, and Incarnate Word Academy is set to close
at the end of the 2022-2023 school year; while marking the end of
an era, members of its community may reflect on the important
role the school has played in the Rio Grande Valley and celebrate
the unyielding faith and dedication of the sisters who provided
generations of young Texans with a strong foundation on which to
build their lives; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 88th
Legislature, hereby honor the legacy of Incarnate Word Academy in
Brownsville and recognize all who those who have contributed to
this historic institution.
LaMantia
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on April 13, 2023.
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Secretary of the Senate
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Member, Texas Senate