Houston History
In 1836, the Allen Brothers landed along the banks of the Buffalo Bayou to begin their “great city,” now the fourth largest in the United States. In 1873, just 37 years later, Mother Mary Gabriel Dillon and two other members of the religious order of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament arrived from Victoria, Texas with their own historic mission in mind.
Pioneering Sisters
The sisters were invited by Bishop John Odin to establish a much-needed school for young women. Although they had no real resources to speak of when they arrived, the Sisters came with everything they would need to begin Incarnate Word Academy: a deep desire to spread the Word of God and educate young minds.
The sisters arrived in Houston from Lyon, France by way of Brownsville, Texas on April 25, 1873. They took up their residence in a large building, once a Franciscan Monastery, across the street from St. Vincent’s Church on Franklin Street. A chapel was prepared and on May 5, 1873 Mass was celebrated there. The student body marks this day each on Foundation Day.
These pioneering women of early Texas made possible the first permanent school in the city of Houston, then called Incarnate Word Academy for Young Ladies.