Unlike other religious orders that came to San Antonio under better circumstances, the Salesian Sisters were fleeing government-sponsored religious persecution in Mexico.
Under President Plutarco Elías Calles, an atheist, the government seized church-owned buildings in the mid-1920s, expelled foreign-born priests, imprisoned clergy, forced schools and convents to close and banned clergy from voting.
Government officials also decreed how many priests could live in each state. In San Luis Potosí in central Mexico, only 13 priests were allowed to live in the entire state. In the southeastern Mexican state of Tabasco, none.
In 1926, a small group of Salesian nuns from Mexico arrived in San Antonio, said Sister Mary Mullaly, author of “Pathways of Faith: Celebrating Mary Immaculate Province.”
The book, which just came out after six years of research by Sister Mary, tells the history of the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco in San Antonio and Texas.
Coming with little more than the clothes on their back and religious vessels that were returned after being seized by officials at the bridge in Laredo, the nuns found lodging in Castroville.
In 1934, a Salesian in Castroville sent a letter to Archbishop Arthur Jerome Drossaerts asking if the nuns could come to San Antonio to work.
“He wrote back giving his permission but made it clear that he would not be able to provide for them and they would have to sustain themselves,’’ Sister Mary said.
Though it was in the early years of the Great Depression and they had little or no funds, the nuns were undaunted. They moved to San Antonio, opened a house on Houston Street near San Fernando Cathedral and began teaching.
Nearly a century later, through donations big and small, a golf tournament currently in hiatus and fundraisers such as an annual Christmas boutique, the nuns have indeed managed to “sustain themselves’’ as the archbishop warned they would have to do. The three-day Christmas event is the biggest source of income for retired nuns — this year it will be held Dec. 8-10 at the Provincial House, 6019 Buena Vista — where the nuns sell poinsettias and all kinds of baked goods, crafts and clothing they have made themselves.
The small group of Salesian Sisters in San Antonio is responsible for the FMA Provincial House, St. John Bosco Convent and St. James Convent, St. John Bosco School and St. James School. A third school, St. Philip of Jesus, was closed.
The Salesians belonged to the Province of Mexico until the late 1980s when it was decided they should become part of the U.S. Province.
Now, the Western Province of the Salesian Sisters, known as the Mary Immaculate Province, includes the states of Texas, California, Louisiana and Colorado. Oregon has recently been added to the province.
The Provincial House or administrative headquarters of the Western Province is on Buena Vista. The current provincial superior is Sister Rosann Ruiz.
The Salesians’ mission is to teach disadvantaged youth enrolled in elementary and secondary schools, early childhood and before and after-school programs, religious education centers, summer camps, adult education classes and outreach programs for poor and struggling women and children.
Children are taught based on the principles of reason, religion and kindness espoused by St. John Bosco, who founded the religious order of Daughters of Mary Help of Christians along with Sister Mary Mazzarellos.
“We’re known as an international congregation, and there are about 16,000 of us working with youth in every continent,’’ said Sister Mary.
There is another facet to the local Salesian Sisters that has brought them fame — they are unabashed, fervent fans of the San Antonio Spurs.
Whether at the AT&T Center or at the convent sitting in front of the television, many of the nuns wear their favorite player’s jersey over their habit while watching the Spurs play.
Many of the sisters have Spurs banners, furry miniatures of the Coyote mascot and other fan gear.
One of the biggest fans was Sister Angelita Guzman who died Oct. 26 at age 90. In 2015, she told ESPN: “When the other team is making the basket, I say, ‘St. Joseph, sit in the basket, so they don’t win.’”
She recalled that after the Spurs won their fourth NBA championship in 2007, Coach Gregg Popovich and a few members of the team visited the nuns.
“The coach came with the team, and he spoke to everybody,” Sister Angelita told ESPN. “He took pictures with each sister, even if they were there in a wheelchair. He would kneel down and talk with a sister, and he was very affectionate with us.”
There also is a special prayer written by one of the nuns for the Spurs.
“Heavenly Father, we ask your special blessings on the Spurs, Coach Pop and all their coaches. May the Spurs always play and continue to be the best they can be ... Protect them from any kind of harm. May they always remember that they do well with God’s help ... We ask the Blessed Mother to help them and in Jesus’ name ask God’s blessing — win or lose. Amen.”
