The Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Cleveland, Ohio, trace their beginnings to the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament in Gomez Palacio, Mexico. The founders of the Cleveland community had come originally from Ireland to serve in Durango, Mexico, which foundation had been made from the Brownsville monastery. During the persecution of the church in Mexico under General Plutarco Elias Calles in 1926 all foreigners were expelled. The Irish Sisters decided to seek a place in the United States to open a new house or to join a present congregation in Texas.

The Sisters in Corpus Christi gave refuge to some of these Sisters. Still, they desired to establish a place of permanent residency and so continued their journey northward. The small group of Irish Sisters spent a short time teaching at St. Michael School in Sioux City, Nebraska. Because the state of Nebraska required citizenship of its teachers, the Sisters set out on their journey once more.

Archbishop Schrembs of Cleveland, Ohio, welcomed the Sisters. When they arrived there they were offered hospitality by the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, who also helped them obtain teaching positions at Annunciation Parish School.

After May 4, 1927, the date of their foundation, the Sisters in Cleveland experienced growth which allowed them to extend their ministry to other areas of Ohio. The Sisters in Cleveland continue to maintain close ties with the community in Gomez Palacio, Mexico.

Our History in Cleveland, Ohio


Although our Order was founded in 1625, it wasn't until 1852 when Bishop Odin visited France to seek Sisters for the mission territory in Texas, that God transported our Order to the New World. A small group of Incarnate Word Sisters responded, and the first house was opened in Brownsville, Texas in 1853.

The Bishop of Tula, Mexico, visited the house in Brownsville and requested help for his mission. Mother Mary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Hord, Mother Vincent Helena O'Herlihy, and Sister Theresa O'Keefe went to Tula, Tamaulipas in 1903, where they ministered for a short time. They moved their monastery to Gòmez Palacio, Durango, México in 1906.

Persecution and political unrest caused the Sisters in Gómez Palacio consternation for many years. Finally, the religious persecution in Mexico under General Plutarco Elias Calles in 1926 forced the Sisters to leave their monastery. They either returned to the homes of their families in México, or escaped to the United States where those who were not Mexican citizens sought asylum.

Congregations in Texas offered hospitality to the Sisters from March until August 1926. After this, seven Sisters received permission from the Superior of the monastery in Gómez Palacio to begin a new foundation in the United States: Sisters Mary Columba Byrnes, Mary Thecla Sullivan, Mary Baptist Fitzgibbon, Mary Brendan Fitzgibbon, and Mary Thomas O'Herlihy, and two novices, Sisters Mary Gabriel O'Regan and Mary Raphael O'Connell.



St. Michael School in Sioux City needed teachers and these seven women responded to an appeal by the Bishop of Omaha, Nebraska. This was not meant to be a lasting home, since Nebraska permitted only American citizens to teach in their schools. The Sisters were of Irish descent and had not yet applied for naturalization papers in the United States.

Trusting in God, Sister Mary Columba Byrnes and Sister Mary Brendan Fitzgibbon sent letters of introduction to various Bishops. Archbishop Joseph T. Schrembs was the first to reply, inviting the Sisters to the Diocese of Cleveland in the State of Ohio.

Believing this was a sign from Divine Providence, the Sisters proceeded to Cleveland.

They arrived in Cleveland on Mother's Day, May 8, 1927. The Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine gave the Sisters a home for several months upon their immediate arrival in Cleveland. In September 1927, the Sisters were asked by Bishop Schrembs to teach at Annunciation School in Brook Park. They lived in Annunciation Parish rectory while they looked for a permanent location for their new Motherhouse.

In December 1929, the Diocese purchased the Carl Miller estate, which consisted of ten acres of land. The existing house on the property was converted into a convent and on March 7, 1930, Archbishop Schrembs presided at the Mass of Dedication.

God blessed the young congregation with vocations and the diocesan authorities assigned other parish schools to the capable hands of the Sisters.

In 1935, just five years after establishing their Motherhouse, a fire destroyed the Sisters' home on Pearl Road. The Sisters were once again offered a home by the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine for one month, until the 28 Sisters took up residence in a home on St. Clair Avenue that had been vacated by the Carmelite Sisters. While the Sisters continued to live on St. Clair Avenue, rebuilding began immediately. The first priority was given to building a school, and as a result of generous financial support from many sources, the Sisters were able to open the doors to Incarnate Word Academy and its first 35 students on September 11, 1935.

Soon thereafter, Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine and the outdoor Stations of the Cross were added. This area became an oasis of prayer for many residents in the surrounding community.

By 1940, the increased population in Parma Heights called for an appeal to build a new convent and boarding residence for the students of Incarnate Word Academy. In December of that year, a new home was built to serve as a residence for the Sisters, with a section set aside for boarding students.

The 1950s and 1960s were growth-filled years for our community in Cleveland. Parish schools, an orphanage, catechetical works, and mission work with the poor were just some of the many ministries undertaken by the Sisters. The present convent and academy were constructed in May 1952 with further additions to the building in 1960 and 1985.

In 1967 the "Little Red Barn," which was on the property when the Sisters moved here in 1930, was replaced with a multi-purpose building named St. Joseph Hall. The facility housed a gym for physical education, a music room, and meeting rooms for use by Incarnate Word Academy, the Sisters, and many organizations that were being established around the growing ministries of the Sisters.

The renewal of religious life in the 1970s and 1980s was deepened by renewed communication and collaboration with other Incarnate Word congregations in Texas and Mexico. Eleven Incarnate Word congregations worked together to promote the process for the Cause for the Canonization of Jeanne Chézard de Matel, who was named Venerable in Rome on October 18, 1991. One of the most beneficial steps in this process was the translation of the writings of Jeanne Chézard from the original French, into both English and Spanish. This renewed collaboration also resulted in annual gatherings of members of the various congregations of the Incarnate Word, both nationally

Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine

and internationally for the purpose of partnership in various projects, sharing ministries and personnel, and reflection on our shared mission and charism.

Collaboration with numerous other religious congregations within the Diocese of Cleveland

Path of Blessings Labyrinth

also served to enhance the ministries of the Church in the Diocese.

Another significant movement toward collaboration developed early in the 1980s. Laity approached our Congregation with the desire to be formed in our spirituality and charism, in order that they might live their call to Christian discipleship in a deeper way-in their families, in the parishes to which they belonged, and in their places of work. These Associates of the Incarnate Word fulfill a desire for the Order of the Incarnate Word, which Jeanne Chézard de Matel had from the very beginning, to include an opportunity for lay women and men to "be extensions of the Incarnation" along with vowed religious. The first ten Associates made their commitment in December 1984.

As we welcome a new century, we realize that providing an environment that welcomes people to pray and to deepen their relationship with God is now more important than ever. We continually seek to share what we have by providing space where all are welcome, day or night, to encounter God through various traditional devotions. In 1999 Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine was rebuilt and is a place where pilgrims come regularly to pray to Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word. In 2000, a Labyrinth, Path of Blessings, a replica of the Labyrinth in the floor of Chartres Cathedral, was installed, where pilgrims can make "a little journey to God," by walking the sacred path and reflecting on their own journey. And in 2007, the 1938 outdoor Stations of the Cross were replaced with new Stations where pilgrims can walk and pray Jesus' Way of the Cross and pray for those who are suffering in so many ways in the world today.

As Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, we continue to pray, develop community, and minister to extend the Gospel of love and mercy and to serve as the visible presence of God in the world today.