University of the Incarnate Word

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Tours

  1. CCVI Heritage Trail

    The Heritage Trail marks places in this area which are significant in the history of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

    Stops

    1. Incarnate Word Chapel

      Built in 1907, the ornate styling of the Incarnate Word Chapel dominates the east end of the campus. Completely renovated in 2009, the chapel is among San Antonio’s most sought after wedding venues, and is used for university celebrations including Heritage Day and Incarnate Word Day.

    2. Heritage Center (Archives Museum)

    3. Motherhouse

      The 1900 Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word was designed by architect Alfred Giles to house the convent, novitiate, and College and Academy of the Incarnate Word. Here, the Sisters lived, prayed and worked. It was the home to which they returned from the missions. 

      In 1988, the Motherhouse was razed to make way for a new ministry of the Congregation, the Incarnate Word Retirement Center, now known as the Village at Incarnate Word. 

    4. Brackenridge Villa

      In 1987, the Sisters purchased the 283 acre Fernridge estate from Colonel George W. Brackenridge as the site for a new Motherhouse for the growing Congregation.

      The house was renamed the Brackenridge Villa by the Sisters. After 3 years as the  Motherhouse, the Brackenridge Villa offered hospitality to chaplains, visitors, and bishops in exile during the Mexican Revolution.

    5. Lourdes Grotto

      The Lourdes Grotto Honors our Lady of Lourdes, and the original grotto in Lourdes, France, well known for its healing powers. In pleasant weather, which is frequent during the fall and spring semesters, the Grotto’s intimate auditorium-style seating often serves as an outdoor classroom.

    6. The Blue Hole (San Antonio Spring)

      The San Antonio Spring, or Blue Hole, is the mainspring in a field of many artesian springs which arise from the Edwards Aquifer and form the headwaters of the San Antonio River.

      Known as Yanaguana, meaning Spirit Waters, this spring was once a gushing fountain spring pushed to the surface under tremendous artesian pressure.

      Today pumping from regional water wells has caused the springs to go dry. The springs flow only during very wet times of extended rainfall. Even so, the place is considered sacred ground, celebrated by many over thousands of years.

    7. The Red (Agnese) Bridge

      The Agnese Bridge connects the main campus with the athletics complex, crossing the San Antonio River at its confluence with Olmos Creek.

      Until the mid-1980's, the Sisters' land west of the San Antonio River was a natural, wooded area, with many headwaters springs. Sisters recall walking through a "wilderness" and seeing springs bubbling up from the ground. 

      A small dam downstream created a spring-fed lake, a popular recreation spot in the 1890's for Sisters and students. A bridge at this location appears in photographs dating from the early 1900's. 

    8. Headwaters Sanctuary

      The Headwaters Sanctuary at Incarnate Word is widely revered as a beautiful, quiet, historic sanctuary at the headwaters of the San Antonio River with the Blue Hole spring as its centerpiece.

      Headwaters at Incarnate Word website.