Cowboys and...Nuns?

By Kathleen Rice Adams

An early re-enactment of the 1869 journey from
Galveston to San Antonio undertaken by three Sisters of
Charity of the Incarnate Word. The journey resulted
in the formation of what is today the largest congregation
of women religious in Texas.

What's the first mental image you snag when someone mentions the Old West? I'll bet nuns aren't even in your mental-image library.

Perhaps they should be. Nuns played a surprisingly large role in civilizing the frontier. In fact, one congregation of women religious built orphanages, hospitals, and schools from Texas to California. The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, founded in 1866 in Galveston, Texas, by three French nuns invited to America by the Catholic bishop of Texas's only diocese, suffered hardship, disease, and a devastating hurricane. They persevered, though, taming the West with faith instead of guns. Today, the San Antonio congregation is the largest in the state. In addition to Texas, the sisters operate benevolent missions across the U.S. and in Ireland, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Kenya.

I admire the fortitude of these women. Imagine braving Indians, outlaws, and all sorts of natural hazards to spread healthcare, education, and comfort in big cities and remote outposts across an untamed land. Would you have had the backbone for such an adventure? I'm not sure I would have.

Two postulants from the Congregation of the Incarnate Word
in San Antonio, Texas, ca. 1890. (courtesy University of
Texas at San Antonio’s Institute of Texan Cultures)

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As it turned out, neither did Sister María Tomás, who thought she wanted to become a nun only to discover dreams and reality sometimes diverge. Her decision to leave the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word proved fortunate for ex-Texas Ranger Quinn Barclay, a man of violence with a shattered dream of his own. Together, they forge a new reality among the ashes of a burned-out border town in "The Second-Best Ranger in Texas," my contribution to the Prairie Rose anthology Hearts and Spurs. Eight other authors contributed heart-warming stories, too. Brimming with charm and historical research, each tale leaves no doubt Cupid is a cowboy, and he's playing for keeps.