History

Two hundred years and counting! Loretto has responded to the call of God to serve God’s people. From children to adults, from elementary to graduate-level education, from eldercare to advocacy for the homelessness and underserved, Loretto has left its mark on the world as it seeks to “work for justice and act for peace.” Learn more about the history of Loretto.

Home » History » Page 5

5×5 Sister-Sisters

By Susanna Pyatt / August 28, 2023 /

Archived newspaper clipping showing a family posing for a photo around the piano. There are five women in one style of habit, one wearing a different type of habit, two men standing to the left of the photo and one older man sitting on the piano bench.

Browsing through Loretto’s database of Sisters and Co-members, it is fascinating to see how many members had blood relatives who also joined the community. Five family groupings in particular stand…

The Loretto: the transformed beauty of the historic Loretto Academy of 1903 on West 39th Street

By Loretto Community / August 3, 2023 /

Published by NewsBreak on August 2, 2023 “The historic Loretto Academy building is located at 1111 W. 39th Street in the Westport District neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri (Jackson County).…

Representations of the Loretto Staircase Mystery

By Reba Weatherford / July 19, 2023 /

1960 comic book cover showing a circular staircase in a church with several people standing around and looking at it. Title reads "Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact" Subtitle "The Wonderful Staircase of Santa Fe"

Archives are full of primary sources that answer historical questions, and the archives at the Loretto Heritage Center are no exception. The archives hold annals, correspondence, annual reports, photographs, journals,…

Glimpses of Loretto’s Agricultural Past

By Susanna Pyatt / May 31, 2023 /

Black and white archival photo of two men standing by a large garden.

While the Loretto Heritage Center contains a lot of archival papers that document Loretto’s past, one aspect that is difficult to see in the archives is the history of agriculture…

A peek behind the scenes at the Loretto Heritage Center

By Loretto Community / May 22, 2023 /

Black and white photo of a nun in habit looking down at a young girl. They stand next to a spinning wheel in a room surrounded by Christian art and artifacts.

What is it like to work at a museum and archive? This week, the Loretto Heritage Center is giving a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes by highlighting…

History Colorado Recognizes Pancratia Hall Lofts

By Loretto Community / May 17, 2023 /

In late April, History Colorado recognized Pancratia Hall Lofts at their annual Stephen H. Hart Awards for outstanding archaeology and historic preservation projects across Colorado. A huge thank you to Mary Nelle Gage SL…

Loretto Roots: Down the Mississippi where Histories and Cultures Interact

By Annie Stevens CoL / May 1, 2023 /

Two women smiling next to a museum sign outside.

Barbara Ann Barbato and I spent a week of March driving through history along the lower Mississippi River Valley, where Loretto established convents and schools during the 1820s-1840s. We not…

Loretto celebrates 211 years of community life, serving others

By Loretto Community / April 24, 2023 /

A crowd of smiling people waves for the camera

Tracing ancestors has become a wonderful adventure for many families. Maps can fill a dining room table, with lines connecting each generation and often names of people family members have…

“Related to Many in the Society”

By Susanna Pyatt / April 6, 2023 /

Three-by-three collage of nine nuns, eight of which are in habits. The most recent photo is the woman in the lower right corner who is not in a habit and is in color.

A note in Sr. Matilda Drury’s file mentions that she was “related to many in the Society and in the priesthood.” Like the Bowling family highlighted in January’s LOREtto post,…

Journey to Montgomery

By Martha Crawley CoL / April 1, 2023 /

Seven diverse women smile together for a group selfie inside.

In mid-February, 12 Loretto Link members and friends took a journey to Montgomery, Ala. The trip was initiated and orchestrated by members of the Loretto Link Good Trouble Working Group,…

Studying the Sisters of Loretto’s involvement in the Native Boarding School Era

By Loretto Community / March 14, 2023 /

Four Sisters of Loretto stand side by side in the snow in heart shaped habits.

Loretto wishes to share with you the research of the congregation’s study of the history of Native Boarding schools operated by the Sisters of Loretto. Why We Study the Native…

Loretto Shares Research To Date on Native Boarding Schools It Operated

By Loretto Community / March 13, 2023 /

Archival photo of large two story building with a balcony running the entire length of the second floor. A habited nun is standing in front of the building, next to a clothesline.

In 2012 the Loretto Community was dismayed to learn of the Doctrine of Discovery, the religious, political and legal justification for colonization and seizure of land not inhabited by Christians.…

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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.