Convent Cemetery
The Incarnate Word Cemetery was dedicated in 1928. The mortal remains of many of the early Sisters, including Rev. Mother Madeleine Chollet and Rev. Mother Pierre Cinquin, were transferred here in 1930. This is holy ground and a place of prayer, where we honor and remember those who have gone before us, our "great cloud of witnesses."On the Feast of All Saints, we woship together as an Incarnate Word community, and conclude our Mass with a procession to the cemetery, and a ritual of remembrance for our beloved dead. The cemetery is often a place of remembrance for other members of our community: the University of the Incarnate Word includes a ritual in the cemetery on Founder's Day; the Village at Incarnate Word gathers friends and families of their community for prayer to remember those who suffer because of Alzheimer's, and light "candles of hope" in the cemetery.
The Chapel of the Incarnate Word
The Chapel of the Incarnate Word was dedicated on May 30, 1907. A place of prayer and celebration, the Chapel stands both as the symbolic center of the life of the Congregation and of our presence in the community. The Chapel has been in continuous use since 1907, and is the primary place for celebrating major Congregational feasts, including professions, jubilees, and funerals. For many years, the bell tower was the tallest structure in San Antonio.The interior of the Chapel is 564 feet long, and 68 feet wide. The Chapel is Romanesque in style with rounded arches, columns with gilded Corinthian capitals. The fourteen large stained-glass windows were designed and installed in 1907, by the Emil Frei Stained Glass company of St. Louis, Missouri. They tell the story of the life of Jesus, from the Incarnation to the Ascension, primarily through the lens of the Gospel of Luke. The designs follow the German tradition of showing clothing, furniture, and building styles from the Middle Ages.Seating in the Chapel is primarily in stalls, carved in golden oak. They are arranged in monastic style, providing individual seating and facilitates the chanting of the psalms in alternating (antiphonal) choirs. The top of each choir stall in the upper rows is crowned with the fleur-de-lis, the national symbol of France and the birthplace of the Congregation.A new Schoenstein pipe organ was installed as part of the 2007 renovation of the Chapel.. The electric-pneumatic action instrument has 24 voices in 27 ranks in the gallery orgn, which is linked to the one-manual console organ in the sanctuary.In addition to being a place of worship, the Chapel has been used in recent years to host performing artists: organ concerts, chamber music recitals, and choirs. https://www.ccvichapel.org/-about
Heritage Center
The physical spaces that make up the Incarnate Word Heritage Center include, among others, the Chapel of the Incarnate Word, the exhibit, “A Life for God and a Heart for Others,” the Convent Cemetery, the Brackenridge/Sweet House, and the “Blue Hole,” the headwaters of the San Antonio River. Visitors to the exhibit are invited to enter into a journey, a pilgrimage of sorts, and reflect on their own call to make the love of God a real and tangible presence in the world today. The exhibit tells the story of the Congregation, through the stories of the Sisters and their collaborators. The stories are told primarily with photographs and accompanying captions, videos, and artifacts. The exhibit is open to visitors Monday through Friday, from 10:00 to 3:00. Small groups are asked to call ahead for a private tour (210-828-2224).
Incarnate Word Motherhouse
Construction of the Motherhouse began shortly after the property (now campus) was purchased in 1897 from Colonel George W. Brackenridge. The Motherhouse contained the convent, novitiate, College and Academy of the Incarnate Word. Here, the Sisters lived, prayed, and worked. It was the home to which they returned from the missions. The Sisters had gardens, milk cows, chickens, their own water, a laundry that could accomodate several hundred Sisters, and a kitchen and staff that prepared three meals a day. As times changed, and more and more Sisters began living in smaller communities, the Sisters began to search for ways to use the resource of the Motherhouse and surrounding property for the greater good.In the early 1980's, the Congregation returned to one of its early ministries, the care of the aged. It was determined that the repair and "reimaging" of the space would be prohibitive. The diffecult decision was made to raze the building to make way for the Village at Incarnate Word. The original facade of the Convent entrance was saved, and placed in its original location.
Brackenridge Villa
What is known today as the Brackenridge Villa was first the Sweet Homestead, built near the headwaters of the San Antonio River by James R. Sweet, a city alderman whose purchase of the headwaters land effectively gave him control of the city’s water supply and triggered a long-term controversy. The raised one-story cottage with Greek Revival symmetry and detailing was purchased along with the headwaters land by George W. Brackenridge, who in 1886 added a high Victorian three-story wing that included a dining room with walls covered by tooled elephant hide. Brackenridge, who became San Antonio’s leading philanthropist, sold his estate in 1897 to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.Mother Madeleine, then Superior General of the Congregation, had begun searching for a location for a motherhouse and novitiate, and in1896 she found it in the 40 acres of the Brackenridge estate that included his home, "Fernridge." Brackenridge agreed to negotiate with the Sisters, but Brackenridge conditioned the sale to include all 283 acres of his estate. Mother Madeleine agreed, and the Congregation purchased the property, along with his home.Almost immediately after purchasing the property and occupying the house, the Sisters set to building a house (Motherhouse) large enough to serve as residence for women in formation, and for the administration of the growing congregation. When the Motherhouse was completed in 1900, the Sisters moved their residence, and Brackenridge Villa began to serve its longest-lived purpose: providing a home for chaplains and for visiting clergy and dignitaries. During the Mexican Revolution, members of the clergy were forced into exile to escape rampant persecution. Many found sanctuary at Brackenridge Villa.After serving many years as offices for the University of the Incarnate Word, Brackenridge Villa now houses offices and meeting rooms for the Congregation's General Leadership Team.
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto was built in 1904, to mark the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a replica of the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. It is a special place for private and communal prayer and reflection.The Reverand J.G. Bednarek, a priest from the Archdioces of Chicago and living temporarily at the Villa, designed the structure. He worked right along with the laborers in the construction effort, quarrying much of the stone and installing the electrical wiring to illuminate the structure for nightime processions.The grotto was dedicated on December 7, 1904, and the following evening, sisters, novices, students, and orphan children all joined in the first outdoor procession with hymns and prayers in honor of Our Lady, inaugurating a devotional custom that was observed henceforth, on the principal feasts of Our Lady.Most recently, the Grotto has served as the Altar of Repose on Holy Thursday night, when all of the faithful accompany the Blessed Sacrament to its temporary resting place, until the celebration of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night.
The Blue Hole
The San Antonio Spring, also called the Blue Hole, is a famous artesian spring on the Congregational heritage land of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Indigenous peoples here at the time of colonization called the springs Yanaguana, or up-flowing waters of the spirit. Coahuiltecan Native American creation stories describe how the Spirit Waters rose up, giving birth to all Creation. This great spring was once a fountain spring rising up to twenty feet in the air. It joins Comal Springs, San Marcos Springs, and Barton Springs as one of the four fountain springs of Texas. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest these same four fountain springs may be depicted in a rock wall painting, known as the White Shaman Panel in the Lower Pecos, dating back some 4,000 years ago. These four great springs issue from a common water source, the vast Edwards Aquifer that flows underground along the Balcones Escarpment from west of Del Rio to north of Austin. The springs give rise to life-giving rivers that have sustained human communities for thousands of years. Evidence of human presence in the headwaters of these rivers dates back nearly 12,000 years, signifying the importance of these great springs to early human civilization. The San Antonio Springs were understood to be the source of the San Antonio River: “the key to the situation, the Ojo de Agua, the birthright of the city” (William Corner, 1890). Now the population of San Antonio is well over a million, all dependent on water from the Edwards Aquifer, which is riddled with many artesian wells. The first artesian wells drilled into the Edwards Aquifer in the 1890’s had the immediate effect of reducing spring flow. Increased pumping to supply water to an expanding population has caused further drawdown of the aquifer, leaving local springs dry much of the time. The headwaters remain a powerful symbol of the literal and spiritual life-giving essence of water. Flowing or not, they remain, to many, the sacred springs.
The Headwaters at Incarnate Word
Established in 2008, the Headwaters at Incarnate Word preserves 53 acres of spring-filled land. The Sisters dedicated this area to the conservation of the land as an expression of their commitment to care for the Earth. The Congregation's Headwaters ministry restores ecological health to this land and fosters a deeper relationship with God through the love and care of creation. In 2020, the 53-acre preservice was placed under a conservation easement. A conservation easement is a restrictive covenant that permanently bars construction, paving over natural surfaces, mining, or drilling on the land.“The little efforts, the local efforts, make a difference. We can’t go to the Amazon to save the rainforest there, but we are really responsible for making sure that what we have is preserved for the future” (Sister Teresa Maya, Congegational Leader).Originally part of the 280 acres the Incarnate Word sisters purchased in 1897 from banker George Brackenridge, the property is a formative space for the Catholic order. The nuns established their mother house on the former Brackenridge land, then moved their Academy of the Incarnate Word to the site from its former location in Government Hill. That school eventually became the University of the Incarnate Word.The Headwaters at Incaarnate Word nonprofit now manages the remaining 53 acres, safeguarding the space and holding regular educational and spiritual events. Dozens of volunteers meet there regularly to cut down invasive trees and build trails on the property, among other improvements.
