[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4022]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CHARLES A GONZALEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 16, 2006

  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 125 years 
that the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) has enriched the city 
of San Antonio and South Texas. Incarnate Word has grown from humble 
beginnings to become one of our city's leading schools and Texas' 
largest Catholic university.
  In the aftermath of the Civil War, Americans began the arduous task 
of rebuilding our war-scarred nation, particularly the South. In the 
late 1860's, after a cholera epidemic had struck, Bishop Claude M. 
Dubuis sent a letter to France urging the first Sisters to come to 
Texas and minister to the sick in the area.
  Bishop Dubuis found three young Sisters willing to accept this 
challenge. Sisters Madeleine Chollet, Pierre Cinquin, and Agnes Buisson 
journeyed from Lyons, France to Texas and founded the Sisters of 
Charity of the Incarnate Word. Immediately, they established the Santa 
Rosa Infirmary, the first civilian hospital in Texas.
  They soon expanded their mission to care for orphaned children and 
this led to the establishment of the first homes for children in San 
Antonio, St. Joseph's Orphanage for Girls and St. John's Orphanage for 
Boys. Naturally, the Sisters were concerned in the long-term well-being 
of the children in their care, so they opened schools to educate these 
orphans in San Antonio and eventually other cities in Texas. In 1881, 
the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word applied for and were 
granted a state charter to operate hospitals and schools.
  Their dedication to providing education to the youth of the area led 
to the formation of a boarding and day school for young women. The 
Sisters added college courses to the curriculum in 1909. In 1925, the 
College and Academy of the Incarnate Word received accreditation by 
what is now the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1929, 
the School of Nursing Education was established to continue the 
Sisters' original mission of healthcare. More recently, in 2004, the 
Feik School of Pharmacy was founded to address the serious shortage of 
pharmacists in Texas and elsewhere. I know that San Antonio can depend 
on UIW to be faithful to their original purpose by producing first-rate 
nurses and pharmacists.
  Moreover, UIW reflects the diversity of our nation and our world. 
Students from all over the world come to attend UIW, which creates an 
atmosphere of tolerance and cooperation that we will need as our world 
continues to shrink. Boundaries and oceans that once separated us no 
longer do and recognizing that events on the other side of the planet 
can and will have profound influences on our lives is necessary. UIW 
provides a campus where American students can learn about and from the 
perspectives that international students have.
  UIW now has a student body of 5200 from 47 countries and offers more 
than 70 undergraduate and graduate programs of study. I expect that UIW 
will continue to evolve yet remain committed to the calling of serving 
others. I am pleased to honor UIW on its 125th anniversary.

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