We, the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Victoria, Texas, are women of the Church, who, in our communal living, seek to focus on the Person of the Incarnate Word through adoration, witness, and the Extension of the Eucharist by service to others in a spirit of charity and simplicity.
Our mission is to extend the Incarnation in today's world by living the Gospel of Love, proclaiming the Good News and building the Kingdom of God. Impelled by love to share the Incarnate Word's mission of bringing God's kingdom to be, we joyfully seek to serve those in need, through an apostolate of Christian education and care of the sick as determined by the current needs of the church.
Since our basic mission in the Church is to give glory to the Father through total dedication to and union with the Incarnate Word, we lovingly labor to become more like Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In accordance with the charism of Jeanne Chezard de Matel, our Foundress, we also endeavor to draw others to share in the graces of the Incarnate Word.
Jesus Christ radically touched the lives of His contemporaries through His oneness with the Father. As we whole-heartedly respond to the Father's call, we become co-laborers with Jesus in bringing God's kingdom to be, touching the lives of our contemporaries with His Love. Flowing from our oneness with the Incarnate Word, our apostolate in the Church precisely involves:
Impelled by love to share the Incarnate Word's mission of bringing God's kingdom to be, we joyfully seek to serve those in need, with whom Jesus closely identified Himself. Likewise, attempting to fill up what is wanting in the Body of Christ, we offer ourselves in prayer and denial of self-will for the conversion of sinners.
Called in the Church to witness to the Incarnate Word's presence in the world, we generously exert every effort to radiate Christ's peace and love in all areas of our apostolate. With Jesus we strive to accept unconditionally all persons who enter our lives, showing special concern for the poor.
The birth of Jeanne Chezard de Matel, November 6, 1596, in Roanne was an answer to prayer. Her mother, Jeanne, had previously had four pregnancies, in which the babies were still born or died at or soon after birth. The couple longed to have a family, and they prayed and sacrificed for this intention.
Their prayer was heard, and in spite of many complications during the pregnancy, little Jeanne was born. The precocious young girl delighted her parents and had a happy childhood in spite of her too-often absent father who held a position in the King's court in Paris. She was also plagued by a severe recurring malaria-like illness which left her moody and irritable. She was a pious young girl and except for a period during her teen years when her attention was diverted from her religious practices, Jeanne continued to grow in love of God and prayer. During her twenties, she spent six years trying to discern her After Jeanne's death the Order continued to bring the Incarnate Word to the people until the In response to an invitation from Bishop Jean Odin, the first Bishop of Texas, Mother St. Claire Valentine and three companions left their native France and founded the first American convent in Brownsville on February 26, 1853. These valiant women soon increased in number and were asked to expand northward. Consequently, the house in Victoria was founded by Mother St. Claire Valentine and five companions on December 21, 1866. From this foundation, The Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Victoria, Texas, along with Sister Congregations in Corpus Christi and Houston, Texas, and Cleveland, Ohio, and with many Sisters in Mexico, now serve in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. They serve primarily through |
A group of IWBS Sisters prays at the cemetery for those who have gone before us.