Ursuline Academy
300 Augusta St., San Antonio, TXWith the end of official Mexican control in I836, the Catholic Church in Texas entered a period of decline that was recognized as serious by Pope Gregory XVI in l839. The Reverend John Mary Odin of New Orleans was directed to come to Texas to revitalize the Church in the new republic. Odin's efforts in the first half of the l840's were directed toward such basic things as church establishments and convents, but by mid-decade Odin was ready to expand the influence of the Church to the educational field. Odin appealed to the Ursuline Order of Hew Orleans and with their support he established the Ursuline Academy in Galveston in 1847.
The Ursuline Order was established in Italy in 1535 to educate young girls and to care for the sick and needy. In 1574 the nuns entered Frances. From their convent near Paris (built in I611) the order spread to most of Europe and America. The Ursulines also did extensive work in Canada. In I727 they established a convent in New Orleans. During the French Revolution of I789 the convents in France were destroyed, restored by Napoleon in I808, and suppressed again in 1904.
The Galveston school prospered so well that Odin decided to establish another at San Antonio. The sisters arrived in the city on September 14, 1847 under the leadership of Father Dubuis, the pastor of the Castroville Catholic Church. The land for the San Antonio Ursuline Academy had been purchased in 1848 by Bishop Odin for $1,000 from Ludouic Colquhoxui. The original owner had been Erasmo Seguin, a prominent Texan in the early history of the state. When the Ursuline Sisters arrived at their new home, they found that the only building there was inhabited by spiders and scorpions. The structure, which had been constructed by Colquhoun or by Seguin, had been allowed to fall into complete disrepair or had never been completely finished—the windows had no glass or blinds, the Inside was devoid of furniture, and the doors and frames needed repair. The academy building was erected after the sisters came, but the Seguin house was repaired and used as a dormitory for some time. It was a minor miracle that the sisters were able to open school in the early part of November - six weeks after their arrival.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
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.