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Explore Our Collections

1859 needlework sampler by Victoria Whitehair, age 12, a student at the Osage Mission in Kansas.

Artifact Collection

The artifact collections of the Loretto Heritage Center consists of over 2000 individual objects, ranging from small personal items to large-scale works of art and pieces of furniture. The museum collects objects that were created by Loretto Sisters and Co-members; are of special significance to Loretto vocations, missions, and individuals’ lives; are significantly related to the Community’s schools, convents, and other locations; demonstrate the connections between the Sisters and the institution of the Roman Catholic Church; and otherwise are part of telling the Loretto story.

Sepia-toned photo of a barn with a silo and cattle standing nest to it.

Crossroads: Change in Rural America, Western Marion County

In 2021, the Smithsonian “Museum on Main Street” traveling program came through Marion County, Kentucky. In preparation for this exhibit, entitled “Crossroads: Change in Rural America”, the Heritage Center along with community partners invited residents to share their photos and memories of Marion County. Listen to two of the Loretto Heritage Center staff discuss their work on the exhibit here.

Black and white photo of a large building with stone steps leading up to a white framed door.

Motherhouse Architecture

View our online exhibit about the 200-year history of the Motherhouse campus, with historic photographs of Nerinx, Kentucky, here.

Paper cut-out graphic of children in different culturally traditional clothing playing on and around a large globe.

Personal Mission Materials

In addition to work on community-wide missions, many Sisters have worked on individual projects as part of their vocations. Materials in this collection reflect the diverse talents and abilities of the Sisters. Browse our collection of finding aids for detailed information here.

Archival photo of school personnel - four habited nuns pose in the back row, with five younger women in dresses seated in a row in front.

Photograph Collection

We have digitized about 12,000 of our collection of more than 40,000 photographs, including photographs from Loretto Schools and the Loretto Motherhouse campus. Click here to view the photographs that have been digitized so far.

Four women in Ghanaian attire pose for a photo.

Post Vatican II Missions

While Loretto was founded as a teaching order, since the 1960s they have expanded their missions to include peace and justice work, earth advocacy, retreat centers, volunteer programs and more. Browse our collection of finding aids related to Loretto Mission work here or view our collection of retreat center photographs here.

Published Resources

This collection houses materials written and published by the Loretto Community including books, newsletters, magazines, and pamphlets. Some of these materials are cataloged into our research library collection. You can view digitized Loretto publications here.

Research Library

Search our collection of published works related written by Loretto Community members or written on topics of importance to the community. Topics include early Kentucky history, Catholicism, the Santa Fe Trail, Osage people, congregations of women religious, and much more. All materials are available to use in our research room.

Schools

In Loretto’s 200+ years of existence, Loretto Community members ran or taught in more than 200 schools across 18 states and five countries. View our rich collection of photographs from Loretto schools here. Browse our collection of finding aids and folder-level inventory of schools materials here. View the list of yearbooks we have in our collection. In 2023, with funding from the Kentucky Genealogical Society we digitized and transcribed 18 ledger books from Kentucky schools, dated from 1830-1940. View those here.

Carved faces on a bronze plate mark the Slave Memorial at the Loretto Motherhouse.

Slaveholding

For the first 53 years of their existence, the Sisters of Loretto used the forced labor of enslaved individuals in all of their missions in the Southern United States. Access our “Index to Materials on Loretto’s History of Enslavement” here.

Contact us

Questions? Not finding what you’re looking for? The Loretto Archives has additional resources not listed here. Please contact us through the form below.

The Loretto Community consists of the congregation of the Sisters of Loretto and Loretto Co-members. The congregation of the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross was founded in rural Kentucky in 1812. Today, our Sisters and Co-members continue to live out the Loretto Community’s mission to “work for justice and act for peace because the Gospel urges us.” In the United States and throughout the world, Loretto Community members serve in many fields, including education, healthcare, elder care, environmental stewardship and advocacy.

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