Author archive

Eleanor Craig SL

Eleanor has been a Sister of Loretto since 1963 and an educator since birth. She graduated from two of Loretto's best known St. Louis institutions, Nerinx Hall High School in 1960, and Webster University in 1967. She taught mathematics at Loretto in Kansas City, where her personal passion for adventure history inspired her to develop and lead treks along the historic Oregon Trail. From 1998 to 2010 she created an award-winning program of outdoor adventure along the Western trails for teens who are visually impaired. Eleanor claims to have conducted more wagon trains to the West than the Mountain Men! From 2012 to 2021, Eleanor led a talented staff of archivists and preservationists at the Loretto Heritage Center on the grounds of the Motherhouse. She recently retired, but still serves in the Heritage Center as Loretto Community Historian.

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Reflection on the First Sunday of Lent

By Eleanor Craig SL / February 26, 2023 /

Genesis 2:7… 3:7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 3:13, 16-17; 4:1-11 This morning we have in the Genesis…

Intrepid sisters travel to Santa Fe in 1852

By Eleanor Craig SL / February 17, 2023 /

Ink drawing of a horse-drawn buggy bearing three bonnetted women.

Adapted by Eleanor Craig SL from PJ Manion SL’s “Beyond the Adobe Wall” Santa Fe, historic capital of New Mexico, has long been known for its jewel-like setting at the…

Reflection on the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

By Eleanor Craig SL / January 1, 2023 /

Numbers 6:22-27 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:16-21 It is an article of our faith that Mary brought Jesus to life in a relationship entirely and exclusively with God. We take for…

Reflection on the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

By Eleanor Craig SL / November 20, 2022 /

statue of christ the king under blue sky

2 Samuel 5:1-3. Colossians 1:12-20. Luke 23:35-43 There are many passages in both the Hebrew and the Christian scriptures similar to those…

Remembrance of the Life of Evelyn Donohoo CoL

By Eleanor Craig SL / November 6, 2022 /

Loretto Co-member Evelyn Donohoo died Nov. 6 in St. Louis, just three months short of her 100th birthday and in the 29th year of her Loretto life. She made every…

Reflection on the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Eleanor Craig SL / October 9, 2022 /

2 Kings 5:14-17 2 Timothy 2:8-13 Luke 17:11-19 Today’s Gospel builds on the first reading, taking the story 10 steps further. Where one man in the Hebrew story is cured…

Reflection on the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Eleanor Craig SL / September 11, 2022 /

Exodus 32 1 Timothy 1 Luke 15 This morning’s Gospel tells the story of our confusions about enough. Enough trouble, enough loss, enough yearning, enough resentment. And enough love to…

Remembrance of the Life of Sister Mary Lee Murphy (formerly Sister Marie Dolores Phillips) SL

By Eleanor Craig SL / August 24, 2022 /

Sister Mary Lee Murphy (formerly Sister Marie Dolores Phillips) SL died Aug. 24 at Loretto Motherhouse Infirmary. She was 93 and in the 74th year of her life as a…

Remembrance of the Life of Jane Elizabeth Kosters CoL

By Eleanor Craig SL / August 10, 2022 /

(Editor’s note: Loretto Co-member Jane Elizabeth Kosters died Aug. 10, 2022, in Denver. She would have turned 80 years old Aug. 17.) Jane Kosters began telling us about herself in…

Reflection on the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Eleanor Craig SL / July 24, 2022 /

Genesis 18:20-32 Colossians 2:12-14 Luke 11:1-13 Today’s readings are very familiar, and each is rich in multiple meanings and deep, compassionate reassurance. The most familiar reading, of course, is the…

Remembrance of the Life of Sister Marian (formerly Sister Marian Joseph) McAvoy SL

By Eleanor Craig SL / June 30, 2022 /

Loretto Sister Marian (formerly Sister Marian Joseph) McAvoy died June 30 at Loretto Motherhouse Infirmary in Nerinx, Ky., in the company of many of the Community. Marian would have been…

Remembrance of the Life of Sister Mary Louise ‘Billie’ Vandover SL

By Eleanor Craig SL / June 12, 2022 /

Loretto Sister Mary Louise “Billie” Vandover SL, died Sunday morning, June 12, at the Loretto Motherhouse Infirmary in Nerinx, Ky., in the company of close friends, including Marie Lourde Steckler…

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.