Motorcycles will roll out from a 72-acre Catholic convent in Houston's East End on Saturday, October 10, kicking off the 22nd Annual Nun Run — a police-escorted ride that raises money for free healthcare at Houston school campuses. Registration opens at 8 a.m. and kickstands go up at 10:30 a.m. at Villa de Matel, with riders, families and supporters covering 40 miles down to the Gulf Coast before the day wraps with a finish-line celebration at Topwater Grill in San Leon.
The ride benefits CHRISTUS School Clinics, which log roughly 10,000 student visits a year, according to the Houston Chronicle. Those campus-based clinics deliver free immunizations, routine physicals and mental health counseling to students across underserved Houston communities, many of whom face financial barriers to basic pediatric care, per the same report. The event is organized by the CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare, and this year's edition is presented by Stellar Bank, with sponsorship and ticket packages ranging from $40 for individual motorcade riders up to $10,000 for top corporate partners.
A Convent Start, a Coastal Finish
Villa de Matel sits at 6510 Lawndale St. in Houston and has served as the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word's headquarters since 1928, after the order relocated from Galveston, according to the congregation's own account. The property houses the Conventual Church of the Immaculate Conception along with a historic cemetery. The Sisters of Charity trace their roots to 1866, when Bishop Claude Marie Dubuis established the order in Galveston to care for sick and orphaned residents during a yellow fever epidemic, per the Texas State Historical Association — the same congregation later founded Texas's first Catholic hospital, St. Mary's Infirmary, in 1867.
From Villa de Matel, the pack heads out for the 40-mile coastal route through Greater Houston, ending at Topwater Grill on April Fool Point in San Leon along Dickinson and Galveston Bays, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. That restaurant was completely rebuilt after Hurricane Ike destroyed it in 2008, according to the Clear Lake Insider. The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word have long said they are committed to improving the health of children and families in the region, and members of the order ride the route themselves with volunteer drivers.
Escorted by Retired and Active Officers
Safety along the course falls to the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club, a fraternal nonprofit founded in Maine in 1974 for active and retired police officers, according to the Blue Knights LEMC. The international club has raised tens of millions of dollars for charitable causes worldwide, per its own materials, and its members provide the police escort that makes the 40-mile ride possible.
Among the riders with a personal stake in the cause is Sister Ricca Dimalibot, M.D., a licensed family physician who leads the CHRISTUS Point of Light Clinic in Dickinson. She completed her 18th Nun Run ride during the 20th anniversary event in 2024, according to the CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare. Sister Dimalibot entered religious life in 1999 after practicing medicine, giving the fundraiser one of its most visible links between the medical and religious missions it supports.
A Sponsor's Name in Transition
This year's presenting sponsor, Stellar Bank, was itself created through an October 2022 merger between Houston-based Allegiance Bank and CommunityBank of Texas, per SEC filings, and was one of the largest Houston-headquartered commercial banks before merging into Texas-based Prosperity Bank in July. The bank continues sponsoring the October ride under its established Stellar Bank branding even as that broader corporate consolidation plays out.
The clinics the ride supports also lean on technology to stretch their reach. CHRISTUS School Clinics implemented telemedicine in 2014 to connect on-site medical assistants with physicians in real time, helping quickly diagnose contagious illnesses and reduce student absenteeism, according to the CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare — a detail that underscores how maintaining attendance matters for both academic progress and school funding. The clinics operate under parent system CHRISTUS Health, headquartered in Irving and formed through a 1999 Catholic healthcare merger, which now runs more than 60 hospitals and 600 healthcare centers across four U.S. states and Latin America with over 50,000 associates globally.
Organizers note the Nun Run schedule is subject to change due to weather or other concerns. As in past years, the event is expected to draw riders, families and supporters for a cause organizers describe as supporting the health and well-being of children in underserved Houston communities.
