Author archive

Sister Anndavid Naeger SL

After years in a teaching career plus other endeavors, Sister Anndavid returned to the Motherhouse to create a "Sewing Loft". Every kind of sewing need enters and exits the space, including mending, upholstery, curtains, etc. When not dealing with a wide variety of sewing requests, material is gathered for a monthly newsletter which began in January 2003 called, "Our Days at Loretto Motherhouse." This historical record of the sites, sounds and activities here at the Motherhouse has a wide distribution and avid readers!

Home » Archives for Sister Anndavid Naeger SL

Students give back at the Motherhouse

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / February 17, 2023 /

Two high school girls holding garden tools stand outside in mulch next to two women, also holding garden tools, for a photo.

After the long pandemic-caused delay of two summers, the student volunteers from our three Loretto-connected high schools in St. Louis, Denver and El Paso returned for a week with us.…

A Fond Farewell to the Powerhouse

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / November 1, 2021 /

A red brick building being demolished by a large Deere excavator outdoors in front of large green trees and a blue sky.

After the powerhouse was built in 1921, the coal trucks have lumbered up the entrance hill, dumped the boiler’s sole diet, then rattled down the hill empty. Whether it was…

Celebrating Joyce Minkler on Foundation Day

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / June 1, 2021 /

Two women, Jeanne Deuber and Marie Ego smiling together outdoors in front of a black metal fence with grass and trees past it. They both have short grey hair, Marie on the left is wearing a bright blue turtleneck and dark blue sweater and Jeanne on the right is wearing glasses, a black blouse, and a brown textured cardigan.

Joyce Minkler has many interests. She has worked tirelessly as a psychotherapist helping people cope with troubling issues in their lives. She lives at 1873 House but often drives around…

The Mission Bell Repair

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / March 9, 2021 /

A large bell hangs outside on a wooden beam held up by two wooden posts. A cross sits atop the beam.

“We found the large cedar tree in the holler near the Valley House,” said Robbie Lyvers. It had been felled during what then Gov. Steve Beshear had called “the biggest…

On the grounds: Motherhouse missives from Anndavid Naeger SL

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / November 8, 2019 / Comments Off

Some months after my arrival at the Motherhouse in 2002, Sister Anthony Mary Sartorius, who was the Motherhouse Service Coordinator, asked me to write about the many events which take…

Loretto Celebrates Earna Volk’s Co-Membership Commitment

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / September 1, 2019 /

Three women conversing at a wooden podium with a microphone indoors in front of a white brick wall. They are exchanging papers in hand too.

The sunshine-yellow of a large field of mustard plants was the flowing theme of the co-membership commitment ceremony of Earna Rae Volk on June 15. “As soon as I heard…

Loretto Motherhouse Celebrates Julie Popham’s Co-Membership

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / June 1, 2019 /

Two women, both with short brown hair and glasses standing together while speaking into a microphone on a wooden podium in front of a plain white wall.

We could have had a complaint about the overcast sky, but we were distracted by the spectator show nature was providing for the day of celebration. The delicate green leaves…

Karel Disponett Celebrates Co-membership

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / December 1, 2018 /

A man and a woman wearing dress clothes smiling for a picture together indoors while standing next to a pot of bright yellow and red flowers.

The dawning sun sent rays to color the stratus clouds in the wake of its coming. We walked out into a crisp 46-degree morning into a day that would contain…

Simple Beauty Enhances First Green Burial at Motherhouse

By Sister Anndavid Naeger SL / February 1, 2018 /

A priest blessing a corpse before it is lowered into it's grave in a wooded forest with numerous attendees surrounding the ceremony wearing big coats.

In a November 2016 article for Interchange, Cecily Jones wrote, “… interest in a natural burial (formaldehyde-free preparation of the body; a biodegradable coffin or container; perhaps only a shroud)…

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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.