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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Margaret Mary Healy-Murphy, born on May 4, 1833, in |
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Cahirciveen, County Kerry, Ireland, to Jane and Richard Healy, |
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affected many lives, specifically those of African Americans in |
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Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1887, she purchased land at the corner of Live Oak |
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and Nolan Streets in San Antonio, and the following year, amid |
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controversy, she constructed her "free school for colored |
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children," which consisted of a brick church, a clergy house, and a |
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school building and became the first Catholic church and school for |
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African Americans in the state; and |
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WHEREAS, Mother Margaret went on to found the Sisters of the |
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Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate in 1893, and on her death in 1907, |
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she left behind a thriving community of 15 sisters and two |
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postulants in San Antonio and Laredo, as well as in Oaxaca, Mexico; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Under the direction of Sister Superior Mary |
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Evangelist Jennings in 1909, some 27 new members joined, and |
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schools for African American students opened in Dallas, West San |
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Antonio, Mobile, Alabama, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Pascagoula, |
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Mississippi; in addition, schools for Mexican and rural white |
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students opened in Longview, Charlotte, Gonzales, and San Antonio, |
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as well as in Tabasco, Mexico; and |
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WHEREAS, With these expansions, the Sisters became |
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associated with the Josephite Fathers and Brothers in Baltimore, |
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Maryland, a congregation whose main focus was to minister to the |
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African American people, and they began to administer St. Peter |
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Claver Mission in San Antonio and serve locations throughout the |
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South and in Africa; moreover, they purchased land on the east side |
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of San Antonio, where a new motherhouse was constructed at 301 Yucca |
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Street; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary |
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Immaculate, guided by their belief in the power of the Holy Spirit |
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and their love for Mary, continue their work of simple, |
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compassionate caring in a variety of ministries; they are nurses, |
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aides, and hospital chaplains, caring for and bringing communion to |
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the sick and elderly; they visit families, engage in parish |
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ministry, and advise the needy and poor on neighborhood |
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improvements; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and |
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Mary Immaculate for their commitment to the poor and oppressed in |
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the United States, Mexico, and Zambia, Africa; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate as |
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an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |