Monastery of Our Lady of Charity
a.k.a. House of the Good Shepherd
1900 Montana, San Antonio, TXThe Monastery of Our Lady of Charity is a historic building in San Antonio, Texas. It was built in 1899, and is located in the East End subdivision. It consists of a convent, a monastery, the kitchen, and the dormitory.
The Monastery of Our Lady of Charity (also called the House of the Good Shepherd) was constructed in 1899 in San Antonio's East End subdivision at the far eastern edge of the city limits. It was built to house the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity who arrived in San Antonio from Canada 1897 to establish a facility to care for and educate young, unwed mothers. The order carried out this mission in other American and Canadian cities, and came to San Antonio at the invitation of Bishop John A. Forest. The House of the Good Shepherd was established in the early days of organized social work in San Antonio when such services were provided almost solely by religious-based organizations. Work carried out at the Sisters' facility complemented the services of other Catholic institutions. Women housed and trained at the House of the Good Shepherd had their babies at Santa Rosa Infirmary, and the children were then sent to St. Joseph's Orphanage for care and adoption. The House of the Good Shepherd expanded to include the monastery, dormitory, laundry, classrooms, and ancillary buildings. Today, only the monastery, kitchen (originally called the laundry), and carriage house remain as Contributing buildings. The dormitory was destroyed by fire in April 1998. The monastery (1899) was designed by architect James Murphy, and the kitchen building (and dormitory) (1903) by Leo M.J. Dielmann. Both were noted local architects whose clients included prominent Catholic families and institutions. The monastery is one of the few known remaining examples of Murphy's work. From the late 1940s until 1988, the Sisters operated Our Lady of Victory School on the site. The buildings, which have remained vacant, and are being renovated by the San Antonio Housing Authority and will continue to fulfill their original social service mission as a community Outreach facility for family violence prevention. The Monastery of Our Lady of Charity meets Criterion A (local level) in the area of Social History and Criterion C (local level) in the area of Architecture, with Criterion Consideration A applied. The period of significance extends from 1899 until 1947.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.