Dominican Sisters of Houston

What Dominican Sisters of Houston does

The Dominican Sisters of Houston is a Catholic religious congregation of women founded on September 29, 1882, when twenty sisters arrived in Galveston, Texas, from Somerset, Ohio, and formally affiliated with the worldwide Dominican Order (Order of Preachers) in June 1902. The congregation operates a portfolio of ministries centered on Catholic education, social justice advocacy, pastoral care, and international mission. Its core educational assets are two college preparatory schools — St. Agnes Academy (founded 1906, for young women) and St. Pius X High School (founded 1956, co-educational) — together with the San Vicente de Paul Bethania School in Guatemala City, which the congregation has sponsored since 1984. On the 6501 Almeda Road motherhouse grounds in Houston, the congregation also operates St. Dominic Villa, a retirement home built in 1967 providing assisted and independent living for retired sisters and visiting Vietnamese sisters, along with a community garden and an outdoor labyrinth used for meditative prayer.

The congregation's Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation ministry extends its mission into advocacy on immigration, abolition of the death penalty, climate justice, racial and economic justice, workers' rights, and human trafficking awareness — anchored by its September 20, 1987 public sanctuary declaration for refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala. It is governed by an elected General Council whose current members — Sisters Donna M. Pollard, Linda Gibler, and Katie Gaspard — serve a six-year term running 2022-2028. There is no proprietary technology platform; the organization's "product" is its ministries and the educational institutions it sponsors.

The Dominican Sisters of Houston is a private nonprofit religious congregation organized under canon law rather than commercial corporate structure, with no shareholders, venture capital, or parent company. Funding flows primarily through donations, charitable contributions, tuition at sponsored schools, and volunteer support. Go-to-market is community-led, channeled through the sponsored schools, parish ministries across the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, the Guatemala mission, and St. Dominic Villa. The congregation is networked into the broader Dominican Family through memberships in Dominican Sisters USA (joined 1999), the Dominican Alliance (joined 2001), the Dominican Sisters Conference, Dominican Sisters International, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and Pax Christi USA and Pax Christi International.

Name

Dominican Sisters of Houston

Legal name

Dominican Sisters of Houston

Website

https://domhou.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Dominican Sisters of Houston is a Catholic religious congregation founded in 1882, operating sponsored schools (St. Agnes Academy, St. Pius X High School), a Guatemala mission school, the St. Dominic Villa senior living facility, and justice advocacy ministries, funded through donations and tuition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Education and Social Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Services (611), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious Orders & Monastic Communities (Monasteries, Convents) (BPAGAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC), Christian Colleges with Theological Programs (EDAHAKAG), Nonprofit / Faith-Based CCRCs (HLADAEAC)

Keywords

• Catholic education services
• Religious congregation ministries
• Social justice advocacy
• Senior care services
• International mission work

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a religious congregation, the Dominican Sisters of Houston rely on donations, charitable contributions, and volunteer support to fund their ministries, schools, Guatemala mission, and St. Dominic Villa senior care facility.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Dominican Sisters of Houston are a Catholic religious congregation that operates sponsored Catholic college preparatory schools (St. Agnes Academy and St. Pius X High School), runs St. Dominic Villa (an assisted and independent living retirement facility for sisters), sponsors the San Vicente de Paul Bethania School in Guatemala City, and conducts advocacy ministries focused on immigration, death penalty abolition, climate justice, racial and economic justice, and human trafficking awareness. The congregation is funded primarily through donations and volunteer support.

Product overview

The Dominican Sisters of Houston operate a portfolio of educational institutions and ministries. The core educational offerings include two college preparatory schools (St. Agnes Academy for young women and St. Pius X High School, co-educational) and a mission school in Guatemala (San Vicente de Paul Bethania School). The congregation also operates St. Dominic Villa (assisted and independent living retirement home), a community garden, and a labyrinth for meditative prayer. Additional ministries focus on justice advocacy including immigration, death penalty abolition, climate justice, racial and economic justice, workers' rights, and human trafficking awareness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 85% of youth in Guatemala mission programs complete programs and pursue higher education

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, historical and minor.

• Dominican AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001Joined the Dominican Alliance in 2001 to strengthen ties with the broader Dominican Family and collaborate on shared Dominican mission and charism.
• Dominican Sisters USAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999The congregation joined Dominican Sisters USA to broaden collaborative undertakings with the U.S. Dominican Family, participating in national Dominican initiatives and shared mission efforts.
• Dominican Congregation of St. Mary of the SpringshistoricalStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal daughter community origin in Columbus, Ohio, with roots tracing to St. Catharine, Kentucky (1822) - the original American Dominican foundation.
• Order of Preachers (Dominican Order)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormally affiliated with the Order of Preachers in June 1902. The order was founded by St. Dominic de Guzman over 800 years ago and encompasses religious women and men and laity globally.
• Leadership Conference of Women ReligiouscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization of women religious leaders in the United States providing leadership, advocacy, and collective voice for Catholic women religious.
• Dominican Sisters ConferencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational conference representing Dominican Sisters in the United States, promoting Dominican identity and collaboration.
• Dominican Sisters InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization connecting Dominican Sisters globally to support Dominican mission and charism worldwide.
• Pax Christi USA and Pax Christi InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatholic peace movement organization. The congregation has corporate stances on nuclear disarmament, Iraq war, and culture of nonviolence aligned with Pax Christi principles.
• Diocese of Galveston-HoustoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 1940s, provided leadership for organization and accreditation of the diocesan school system, including Montessori method and Project Head Start. The Diocese bought land and college buildings when Dominican College closed in 1974.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Ursuline Academy of Dallas: Catholic women's college preparatory school in Dallas sponsored by the Ursuline order, sharing St. Agnes Academy's single-sex, college-prep, Catholic identity. Comparable as a regional peer in the same Texas Catholic school market.

Direct peers

• Sisters of the Holy Cross: Congregation running sponsored schools, hospitals, and international missions with a similar faith-based education and service portfolio. Comparable as a Catholic women's congregation operating both domestic institutions and global mission work.
• Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cabrini): Catholic women's congregation founded by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini with sponsored schools, healthcare, and immigrant services. Comparable on international mission, immigrant advocacy, and education ministry dimensions.
• Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word: Houston-based Catholic religious congregation running Incarnate Word Academy, Catholic health systems, and parish ministries in the same city. Closest geographic and ministerial peer with overlapping education and healthcare footprint.
• Congregation of the Sisters of St. Agnes: Catholic women's congregation with sponsored schools, healthcare sponsorship, and social justice ministries across the U.S. Comparable operating model across education, elder care, and advocacy under a religious-charism governance structure.
• Adrian Dominican Sisters: Large Dominican women's congregation based in Adrian, Michigan operating schools, healthcare, and justice ministries under the same Order of Preachers. Highly comparable as a fellow Dominican congregation running sponsored education, senior services, and social justice advocacy.
• Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart: Houston-based Catholic college preparatory school for girls sponsored by the Society of the Sacred Heart, sharing the same local market and student demographic as St. Agnes Academy. Comparable as a direct market competitor for Catholic women's college preparatory education.
• Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa: Wisconsin-based Dominican congregation with parallel ministries in education, retreat ministry, parish work, and social justice. Closest structural analog as a U.S. Dominican congregation founded under the same Order of Preachers charism.
• Dominican Sisters of Peace: U.S. Dominican congregation formed by merger of multiple communities, with ministries spanning education, retreat work, immigration advocacy, and pastoral care. Direct analog in Dominican identity, contemporary justice focus, and multi-site ministry model.
• Felician Sisters: Conventual Franciscan congregation sponsoring K-12 schools, universities, and healthcare ministries across North America. Strong peer along the same Catholic women-religious operating model with sponsored education and elder services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dominican-sisters-of-houston

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Dominican Sisters of Houston