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Future superior of Refugio Sisters of Mercy takes religious vows
On this day in 1872, Mary Ann Lucas took her final vows as a member of
the Sisters of Mercy, under the name Sister Mary dePazzi. She had been
born in Ireland in 1853, and had followed her sister Margaret, whose
religious name was Sister Mary Camillus, to New Orleans in 1870. The two
sisters were leaders in the historic task of forming schools in the
state of Texas; like many other nuns, they responded to a broad and
urgent invitation to serve both the Catholic Church and the citizens of
the frontier state. Bishop Anthony Pellicer invited the Mercy sisters to
Indianola, where the group joined Mother Camillus in 1875. While
Camillus was in New York seeking other volunteers, the Indianola
hurricane of 1875 devastated the community. Mother Mary dePazzi went to
Refugio, while her sister returned to San Patricio. Afterward, the two
groups expanded separately. After years of devoted service, in a
conflict with the local clergy Mary dePazzi sought a decision from a
higher church authority. This move led to such acrimony that she
withdrew from her religious profession for nine years. She was
subsequently accepted into the Mercy community in Baltimore, where she
died in 1907.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- LUCAS, MARY ANN [MOTHER MARY DEPAZZI]
- SISTERS OF MERCY
- PELLICER, ANTHONY DOMINIC AMBROSE
- CATHOLIC CHURCH
- CATHOLIC CONGREGATIONS OF WOMEN
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- Philip Sublett nominates Sam Houston for president of the Republic of Texas (1836)
- First Feast of the Assumption celebrated in Praha (1855)
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