Longtime Loretto Friend, Ann Wall Richards, Becomes Co-member

Ann Wall Richards now can be assured that she can put Loretto Community Member on her tombstone, which she said was one of her long-term goals.

Ann has been a Loretto friend for decades, participating in a variety of Loretto activities. She has belonged to a gospel group and theology book group in Denver. Ann has attended many Loretto events such as LWN and LEN and Loretto retreats. She will not be a new face to the Loretto Community.

I have had the pleasure of sharing an IATW group with Ann in which she is an elder and brings great spirit and wisdom to the group. There are a number of young people in this group, and so it carries great intergenerational learning for us all. When we finished with IATW we launched into a study guide focusing on post Vatican II Loretto history. Ann helped contribute to the group, being deeply reflective and interesting.

Ann is deeply committed to her children and grandchildren. She often travels to be with them and occasionally makes exciting trips with them, returning with great tales of her adventures. Speaking of adventures, Ann is a great outdoors woman with a long history of camping and hiking in the mountains.

Another adventure of Ann’s is contemplative prayer. She is very active in Contemplative Outreach and often goes to Snowmass Monastery for what they call intensives, which are extended periods of centering prayer. Ann helped us plan the recent Snowmass retreat for Loretto.

Ann has a real passion for justice and peace. She made a trip to Central America to deliver supplies and work in a clinic. She has befriended a prisoner with frequent visits, participated in Nuns on the Bus in Colorado and has been a long-time supporter of the Denver Catholic Worker.

I am honored to have been Ann’s contact person through her co-membership process and to have been able to cross Ann’s path in some of the many ways she has been part of Loretto. I am especially grateful for her words at a gospel group session, “Whenever I have to make a difficult decision I think, ‘What would be the loving thing to do?’” What an indication of her desire to be with people. Ann is a true Friend of Mary at the Foot of the Cross.

Stay tuned for the next adventure — her co-member celebration.