The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word opened the Chapel of the Incarnate Word in 1907, just 38 years after arriving in San Antonio from their native France virtually penniless and with little command of the English language. The chapel features a marble altar which is the main focus of the sanctuary, five life-sized icons which detail the Congregation’s past, present and future; a life-sized crucifix representing the people of San Antonio where the Congregation was founded in 1869; choir stalls made by the Amish and Mennonites of New Holland, Pennsylvania; a blue ceiling which calls our attention to the heavens and mirrors the cathedrals of Europe, and gold-leafing to the iconic four-trumpeting angels on the Chapel’s 11-story tall tower.