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