Margaret Mary Healy Murphy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Servant of God
Margaret Mary Healy-Murphy
SHSp
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Margaret Mary Healy-Murphy, c. 1870
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Margaret Mary Healy
May 4, 1833 Cahirciveen, County Kerry, Ireland
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| Died | 25 August 1907 (aged 74) |
| Occupation | Foundress |
| Organization | Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate |
Margaret Mary Jane Healy Murphy, SHSp (May 4, 1833 – August 25, 1907) was an Irish-American Catholic nun and an early champion for civil rights. She is famous for starting the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate. This was the first group of Catholic sisters in Texas. She also opened the first free private school for African Americans in San Antonio, Texas.
Margaret and her family traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland. They eventually moved west from West Virginia to Mexico and Texas. This was before the Civil War. She lived in Corpus Christi until she was in her mid-fifties. After her husband passed away, she began her special work helping others. Throughout her life, she supported the poor and reached out to help African Americans and Mexican Americans.
Her journey to become a saint officially began in June 2021.
Contents
Margaret Mary Healy-Murphy's Life Story
Early Years and Learning
Margaret Murphy was the oldest of four children. She was born and grew up in Cahirciveen, Ireland. She was related to Daniel O'Connell, who worked to end slavery in the British Parliament. Margaret's mother died when Margaret was only five years old. Her father was a doctor who helped poor people in the areas around Cahirciveen.
After her mother's death, Margaret's aunts, Mary and Johanna Murphy, helped care for the children. After the Act of Union, Ireland became very poor. Some of Margaret's family decided to move away. Most of them came to work on a farm in West Virginia. However, her sister, Jeannie Healy, went to a boarding school in Namur. Margaret, who was six, wanted to stay with her father. He did not want to move at that time. She stayed and went to a school in Ireland. This school gave her a strong start in her education. Later, Margaret's father volunteered to be a doctor on a ship moving to the United States.
Margaret and her father arrived in Virginia in 1845 when she was twelve. They then moved to live and help on the family farm in West Virginia. Margaret continued her schooling there for a while. She also helped with the family's Sunday School. She taught both adults and children, including African American workers on plantations, how to read and write.
Moving West to Texas
When her family moved west to Texas, Margaret's father died on the way in New Orleans. Margaret, her aunts, uncles, and two brothers moved further south to Matamoros, Tamaulipas. There, Margaret worked with her aunts, running a hotel from 1846 to 1850. Her brother and uncle went to California for the Gold Rush. She never saw them again.
In Matamoros, she met John Bernard Murphy. He was serving as a volunteer in General Zachary Taylor's army. Margaret married John in Matamoros on May 4, 1849, at the Matamoros Cathedral. In 1850, Margaret and her husband settled in Corpus Christi. Her husband owned a ranch and worked as a lawyer. Margaret also brought her two aunts, Johanna and Mary Murphy, to live with them on the ranch. The Murphys also owned slaves who worked on their ranch.
Life in Corpus Christi
After the Civil War, Corpus Christi suffered greatly. The blockade of the Texas coast caused shortages of food and supplies for about four years. Troops from the North also badly damaged the city. When the Murphys returned home, many of their belongings were destroyed. To help others, Margaret ran a soup kitchen from her ranch. She then set up a small clinic. A homeless Hispanic girl named Delphine was like a daughter to the couple. Delphine became Margaret's close friend. Margaret was very concerned about the poor, especially poor Black people in the city. In 1865, the Murphys rented out their ranch and moved into the center of Corpus Christi.
In 1867, a yellow fever outbreak hit Corpus Christi. It killed almost a third of the people. Margaret cared for many patients. One dying patient, Mrs. Delaney, asked Margaret to care for her daughter, Minnie. Margaret and her husband adopted Minnie. They also adopted another girl around the same time. The Murphys sent their adopted girls to boarding school. This was because there were few Catholic schools in Texas.
Margaret and her husband realized that Texas needed more schools for children. Margaret asked Bishop Claude Marie Dubuis for help. He sent three Sisters of Mary from Belgium to Waco in 1873. One of these sisters was Jeannie Healy, Margaret's own sister.
Hurricanes in 1875 badly damaged Corpus Christi. Many homes were destroyed. Margaret responded by creating shelters. People started calling these "Mrs. Murphy's hospital for the poor." It welcomed "Anglos, Mexicans and blacks" equally. However, the hospital did not last long. This was because of racial prejudice affecting her work.
In 1875, John Murphy was a representative at the First Constitutional Convention for Texas in Austin. When he returned, he was asked to run for mayor of Corpus Christi. He served as mayor from 1880 to 1884.
On July 4, 1884, John Murphy died. He left Margaret a large amount of money. Soon after John's death, Margaret's aunts, Johanna and Mary, also died. Margaret was then alone. She decided to use her wealth to keep helping others. She especially wanted to help the poor and Black people in Texas.
In 1884, Margaret traveled to Temple to help teach Black children. Delphine and a volunteer went with her. However, the program she started there was not successful. Margaret then moved to San Antonio.
Founding Saint Peter Claver School
Margaret felt called to build a school for African Americans. This feeling came after a sermon by Father John Maloney on May 29, 1887. The sermon was at Saint Mary's Church in San Antonio. It encouraged people to create schools for Black children in the city. Margaret told her friend, "This will be my work someday; it is the great need of this time. The Holy Spirit has helped me to make this decision."
African Americans in San Antonio often did not get much help from the Catholic Church for education or missions. This changed when Margaret came to San Antonio in 1887. Margaret asked Bishop John C. Neraz for permission to start a school for African Americans. He gave his "enthusiastic approval."
Margaret sold some land she owned in San Patricio County. She used the money to buy land on the East Side of San Antonio for a school for African Americans. The land was bought on October 14, 1887, for $2,800. Some people living in the area, which was only white at the time, were against it. Also, strict laws for separating white and Black people made it hard to get supplies to build the school. San Antonio was known for strongly opposing schools for Black children. However, Margaret was determined to make San Antonians pay attention to racial issues. That is why she chose a white neighborhood for the school.
The school was finished in 1888. It was named the Saint Peter Claver Colored Mission. It was the first Catholic school for Black people in San Antonio. It was also the first free school for African Americans in the city. The school was named after Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit saint. He spent his life helping slaves in Cartagena, which is in present-day Colombia.
To have priests for the church, she asked for help from the Society of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Josephites). This group focused on helping African Americans. Margaret's finished church had 500 seats, a rectory (a house for priests), and a school. Margaret paid for all of it herself. Bishop Neraz officially opened the building and gave it its name on Sunday, September 16, 1888. The school had 120 students on its opening day, September 17, 1888.
By 1892, the school had two hundred students. These included both day students and students who lived at the school. However, the costs were growing. Margaret had already spent nearly $10,000 of her own money. The racist attitudes of many in the city also caused problems. A bank manager told Margaret, "for your senseless Negro venture I will give you not a penny, but if you assure me that you will exclude Negroes, I will gladly erect an entire new school." Margaret kept going. She received donations from individuals and $900 from the Josephites.
Margaret was not the only one facing prejudice. Teachers at the school were bothered and threatened every day. Over time, she lost her volunteer staff. The Ku Klux Klan was involved in scaring the teachers. To solve this problem, Margaret decided to start her own group of sisters. This way, she could recruit sisters to work at the school.
Over time, Margaret recruited sisters from Ireland and from the local Mexican American community. This new group, the first congregation of sisters started in Texas, was called Sisters of the Holy Ghost. The first four sisters made their promises to join the group on June 9, 1893. As the founder, Margaret was named Reverend Mother Margaret Mary. Margaret made the first of four trips to Ireland in July 1896. There, she recruited young women to join her group.
Growing the Mission
In January 1898, Margaret was asked to build a school for African American children in Victoria, Texas. Margaret bought land in Victoria for $4,500. She began to fix up a house for the sisters and the school. This new school opened in February 1898.
Margaret created a quiet place for reflection at her San Patricio ranch. She had also built a chapel there. She often invited sisters from other groups in San Antonio to visit her retreat. Sadly, the ranch was later destroyed by Hurricane Celia in 1970.
Margaret Murphy passed away at the St. Peter Claver Convent in San Antonio on August 25, 1907.
Margaret Murphy's Lasting Impact
Margaret Murphy's work led to the creation of thirty-nine missions. These missions were in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In the late 1960s, her religious group was renamed the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate. Today, the Sisters of the Holy Spirit also have missions in Mexico and Zambia.
Margaret's school later changed its name to the Healy Murphy Center. The Healy Murphy Center is still open today. It is located on Nolan Street in San Antonio. It helps students who have left school. The school continues to have an excellent reputation for its academics. It also began to welcome students of all races in the 1940s. Later, it became a non-religious charter school. In 2012, the Healy Murphy Center was updated and rededicated.
Her journey to become a saint officially began in June 2021.
