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Introduction


Sr. Margaret Patrice joined the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word after graduating from college in 1943. It began with a bachelor's degree in English, followed by a master's degree from Marquette University, and finally, a doctorate from the Catholic University of America, for Sr. Margaret Patrice in 1952. Additionally, she has done postdoctoral work in Scotland and the United States. Professor of English, Chair, Academic Dean, President Emerita and Chancellor are some of the roles Sister has held at University of the Incarnate Word since her return to campus.

Sr. Margaret has received numerous honors and awards for her contributions to higher education in the Texas community, including the Ford Salute to Higher Education for distinguished service, the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal for Leadership in Learning from the Association of Colleges and Universities in Texas, recognition from the San Antonio Express-News for leadership in education, and induction into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame. 'Promises to Keep,' a fascinating two-volume history of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, was written by Sister Margaret Patrice, who was recognized as an exceptional publication by the Texas Catholic Historical Society for her work. In addition to being recognized as one of San Antonio's Brightest and Best, Sister has been recognized as one of the city's most remarkable women. Sister celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2007, commemorating her sixtieth year of service as a Sister of Mercy.

Early Life
Sr.Patrice attended Most Blessed Sacrament Elementary School in St. Louis as a child, where she was taught by Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. The Academy was an obvious decision when it came time to choose a high school. Looking back, she said “It was a fairly little school when I got there. My class had around 25 people, and the entire school had about 100, so you recall things that made it feel like a family". Her time at the Academy and her interactions with the Sisters are said to nourish her vocation, which made it a natural thing for her to pursue the vocation upon graduation.

Education and teaching career
Sister Margaret attended Incarnate Word Academy in St Louis and received her bachelor's degree and master's degree from Marquette University. Only her studies at different universities and then for a PhD at the Catholic University of America, as well as post-doctoral study at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, interrupted her teaching career and chairmanship of the English Department.

Following the retirement of Sister Clement Eagan, CCVI, she returned to teaching, was appointed Academic Dean, and eventually President in 1972. Both roles came at a time when the church and the College were undergoing significant changes. This featured an increase in lay faculty numbers and participation in governance, as well as modifications brought forth by Vatican II, such as coeducation in all departments and student life. She increased the campus's reach by forming a lay Development Board, expanding the Board of Directors to Trustees with lay membership and the first lay chairwoman, and involving students in a variety of activities, including setting the pace on the Board of Trustees.

She was described by her student as a “difficult English teacher” but “knew her stuff”. Her past students learnt how to think and write for the rest of their lives. She opted to return to teaching freshman English after a long career in administration, although for a limited time. One time, s he asked the pupils to identify the parts of speech in one of her early return classes. "Lips, teeth, and tongue!" exclaimed one student eagerly. For years, her trademark phrase has been "spare me."

“Spare me”

Claude Marie Dubuis, bishop of Galveston, whose diocese at the time encompassed the entire state of Texas, founded the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Lyons, France, and established them in Galveston (1866), then moved them to San Antonio (1869). The bishop traveled to France frequently to raise funds and recruit priests and nuns to meet the rising needs of his enormous diocese. During his 1866 visit, the most important need was for nursing nuns. In the Monastery of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament in Lyons, Dubuis was able to prepare three young ladies for the Texas mission. Within a year after their arrival, devastating yellow fever and cholera epidemics put their nursing talents to the test. Meanwhile, other volunteers gathered at the abbey in Lyons to prepare for the Texas mission and the perilous journey to Galveston, where they would join the original foundation. Bishop Dubuis had hoped to build a hospital in San Antonio for a long time. Sisters Louise (Mother Madeleine) Chollet, Jeanne Pierrette (Mother St. Pierrette) Cinquin, and Agnes, the founding members of the new foundation, journeyed by stagecoach from Galveston to San Antonio at his request. As they were leaving Galveston, they found that the house they had planned to live in had been destroyed by fire. They were hosted by the Ursuline Sisters when they arrived in San Antonio in March 1869 until a new residence could be erected. The Sisters of Charity moved into their new home, a combined convent and hospital, on October 21, 1869, and on December 1, the same year, they founded San Antonio's first hospital, the Santa Rosa Infirmary. Sister St. Madeleine was named superior, while Sister St. Pierre was assigned as her assistant.

The tiny, two-story frame edifice served as the original motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, and had a few wards for the ill, a convent space for the sisters, and a small chapel. The city was recuperating from a devastating cholera outbreak at the time, and the sisters became medical pioneers. Members from France, Germany, Ireland, Canada, the United States, and Mexico continued to join the congregation. As the membership grew, so did the need for more accommodation.

The group moved to a new home and 280 acres of land in 1897, which they bought from George W. Brackenridge. They built a new motherhouse and chapel, which were ready for occupancy in 1900 and 1907, respectively, and named their headquarters Brackenridge Villa. By 1891, the sisters had eleven hospitals in Texas, New Mexico, Iowa, and Missouri, as well as a home for the elderly in Monterrey.

By 1874, the sisters had opened their first children's home in San Antonio, St. Joseph's Orphanage, and in 1875, the congregation's first school, San Fernando School, was opened at the orphanage. By 1891, the sisters' educational ministry had grown to include twenty-two towns or cities in Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Mexico. Over the course of the century, a thriving congregation grew, and in 1921, the order was divided into four provinces: San Antonio, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Mexico, in response to the increase in numbers and apostolic work.

Later, the three provinces of the United States were merged. The sisters' work was extended to South America in 1964, when the community built Centro Santa Clara in Chimbote, Peru, as a missionary center to aid the underprivileged. The San Antonio Province, which celebrated its centenary in 1969, ran four hospitals, fifty-two elementary and secondary schools, and Incarnate Word College, as well as St. Peter's and St. Joseph's Children's Homes and the Guadalupe Community Center. Eleven colleges, eight free elementary schools for the needy, eight hospitals, three nursing schools, at least one children's home, and two community centers have sprung up in Mexico's province. Four hospitals, sixteen primary schools, a secondary school, and three children's homes were staffed by the sisters of the St. Louis Province. In 1985, the convent was sixteen years into its second century of humanitarian service, and sisters were serving in new ministries such as counseling, parish ministry, assisting battered women, and programs for chemical dependency recovery. A lay volunteer program was started in 1986 to help the nuns in their work. Between 1987 and 1990, the order's motherhouse chapel, which was built in 1907 on the grounds of Incarnate Word College in San Antonio, was repaired and rebuilt. The sisters commemorated the 125th anniversary of their formation in San Antonio from December 3, 1993, to December 3, 1994, with the theme "Year of Jubilee-Year of Grace."

Sister Margaret Patrice Slatterly was appointed to write a history of the order's 125 years in honor of this occasion. Incarnate Word High School, Incarnate Word College, Incarnate Word Motherhouse and Retirement Community, Santa Rosa Health Care, Visitation House, and Volunteers in Mission were all sponsored by the Sisters of Charity in San Antonio in 1994. They were ministering in Missouri, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arizona, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Peru, in addition to Texas. In 1994, the United States had 365 Sisters of Charity.

Publications
Sister Margaret Patrice authored Promises to Keep, a fascinating two-volume history of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word that was recognised by the Texas Catholic Historical Society as an exceptional publication. The books were written on the occasion that the sisters commemorated the 125th anniversary of their formation in San Antonio from December 3, 1993, to December 3, 1994, with the theme "Year of Jubilee-Year of Grace."

Awards
With the advent of Dr Louis J Agnese, Jr., Sister Margaret departed from the presidency in 1985 and became Chancellor and President Emerita. Sister received the Ford Salute to Higher Education for distinguished service, the Association of Colleges and Universities in Texas' Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal for Leadership in Learning, was honoured by the San Antonio Express-News for leadership in education, and was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame. Sister has been named one of San Antonio's Brightest and Best, as well as one of the city's most outstanding women.