Led by the Spirit

Mother Margaret Mary Healy-Murphy

As her personal mission unfolded, she managed to irritate, often quiet willingly, church and government officials.” (Anne M Butler, ”Building Justice: Mother Margaret Murphy, Race, and Texas,” Catholic Southwest, Vol. 13, 2002, page 16.)

The word ”feisty” would be more to the point.

Mother Margaret Mary Healy-Murphy was born in Ireland on May 4, 1833. As a child, she often accompanied her doctor father on his visits to patients, many of them poor. And what she saw laid the foundation of her life-long compassion for others.

In 1838, Margaret’s mother died, leaving behind two sons, as well as an infant daughter. Months later, two aunts traveled with Margaret’s older brothers to America for a better life. Her younger sister, Jeannie, was taken to live with friends of the family.

A fiercely loyal daughter, Margaret refused to leave her father’s side. In 1845 they left for America due to worsening conditions in Ireland and arrived in Virginia. Because there were no Catholic churches in the area, Margaret and her father soon moved to New Orleans.

Dr. Healy’s health deteriorated and he died shortly after their arrival.

Margaret then traveled to Matamoros and in 1848 she met John Murphy who had recently retired from the army. They married the next year.

John became a successful lawyer. He was also interested in cattle ranching so they moved to San Patricio County in 1850 and purchased 4,000 acres of land they named Echo Ranch.

The ranch was a stagecoach destination, as well as an overnight stop for traveling missionaries. Margaret managed the ranch after her husband’s death and as a religious sister as well.

Margaret was in every sense of the phrase, ”a woman of the West.” She often rode her horse throughout the area to assist the poor and sick, during a time in history when yellow fever was common. She would also ride into Corpus Christi, 35 miles away just for medicine, in an area known for the Comanche Indians and Mexican bandits who often victimized settlers.

Margaret Mary’s compassion took in an abandoned child she encountered on her way home from Sunday Mass. Years later, Delphine would be the first person Margaret Mary will confide in about her decision to work with blacks.

As the Civil War was ending in 1865, they moved to Corpus Christi. Two years later, an epidemic of yellow fever ravaged the city. Again, Margaret Mary’s skills and compassion, which helped those who suffered from the war, also touched those suffering from the epidemic.

One of the dying asked Margaret to adopt her daughter, Minnie, who would later enter the Incarnate Word community in Victoria. A number of years later, Margaret also adopted her niece, Elizabeth (Lily). Lily also entered religious life with the Incarnate Word sisters in Corpus Christi.

By 1880, her husband John took on another interest: politics. He was elected Mayor of Corpus Christi that year, serving until 1882, when he resigned due to poor health. His health continued to decline and he died in 1884, leaving Margaret a considerable fortune.

A short time later, she accepted an invitation from a pastor to begin a school for blacks in Temple, which failed almost from the outset, forcing her to return to Corpus Christi. However, failure was not a new experience for her, as she was not able to keep a hospital for the poor open a few years earlier.

Then she moved to San Antonio.

Pentecost Sunday, the Day of the Spirit, Margaret Mary and Delphine attend Mass, as usual. Rev. John Maloney, O.M.I. preached the need for educating blacks: a topic the American Bishops also discussed during the Third Plenary Council in Baltimore in 1884.

Up until this time, the needs of immigrants had consumed all resources. It would be this sermon that confirmed what Margaret Mary had been considering for some time: how she could respond to the needs of her time.

Her task began with the building and maintenance of St. Peter Claver Mission, using her own resources. The project was marred with numerous setbacks, but the mission eventually became a reality despite refused loans and donations. Adding to her difficulties was the rate of teacher turnover, which finally sent her to the Sisters of St. Mary Namur in Waco for help. Her biological sister Jeanne, now Mother Angela, did not have Sisters to spare, so she suggested Margaret start her own community.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Eventually, Margaret Mary responded not only to the clarion call from the leaders of the American church, but also to a simple idea suggested by a family member. This inclusivity gave shape to her mission, first what it was to be and then, how it would be lived out.

For some, adventure equals white water rafting or climbing Mt. Everest. For others, adventure means a million dollar lifestyle. Yet, for a special few like Mother Margaret Mary, adventure is a life led by the Holy Spirit: a life that has discovered even in the midst of great opposition or failure, the power of the Holy Spirit makes a difference.