When Mother Joseph and Sister Catherine arrived in Walla Walla in late 1863, they found a small town of only 50 families. These Sisters of Providence had great vision, though. “That place promises to become important,” wrote Mother Joseph.

Edmund Barron, a local banker, donated two blocks of land for a hospital, academy, and institutions. A year later, St. Vincent Academy opened. There, the sisters taught school and took in women boarders, while visiting the sick and homebound. It was to be a great undertaking, the Walla Walla Statesman noted the sisters had “hardly a dollar of their own to purchase the first brick.” But the townspeople rallied.

Portrayed by Susan Matley.