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. Now retired, she still serves in the Heritage Center as Loretto Community Historian.

Home » Archives for Eleanor Craig SL » Page 9

Remembrance of the Life of Sister Mary Ann (formerly Sister Charles Loretto) Coyle SL

By Eleanor Craig SL / June 15, 2019 /

Mary Ann Coyle was born in Des Moines, Iowa on Nov. 1, 1925. Her parents were Charles L. Coyle and Loretta Teatum Coyle, both Catholic and lifetime residents of…

Loretto Heritage Center Staff Hang Together Through Thick and Thin!

By Eleanor Craig SL / May 1, 2019 /

Three women smiling for a picture while exploring a basement crawl space.

Curator Susanna Pyatt, Archivist Ayla Toussaint and I laugh as we inspect the space beneath our building; above the crawl space, Heritage Center Assistant Marcia Mohin enjoys the less dusty…

A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Documents

By Eleanor Craig SL / April 1, 2019 /

A woman with grey hair wearing a colorful plaid shirt smiling while grabbing a file box on a large file shelf covering the whole wall.

Last June the Archivists at the Loretto Heritage Center noticed buckling in the hardwood floor beneath the racks of documents. At least one sensitive nose also smelled musty, moldy smells.…

Which Way to the Novitiate?

By Eleanor Craig SL / November 16, 2018 /

On the grounds of Loretto Motherhouse, in an area of central Kentucky which is today still quite rural, two imposing brick buildings stand as witnesses to more than 175 years…

LOREtto Teaching: FIDES, MORES, CULTURA

By Eleanor Craig SL / September 13, 2018 /

Loretto Academy at Loretto Motherhouse, opened in 1834 in today’s “Rhodes Hall,” steadily pursued its mission of education, through times of financial boom and bust, through the fire of 1858…

Teaching: From the Three Rs to the Higher Branches

By Eleanor Craig SL / August 16, 2018 /

Two buildings on the grounds of Loretto Motherhouse are in the midst of significant anniversaries. The buildings that today we call “Rhodes Hall” and the “Novitiate/Academy Building” together mark 175…

Making Movies: Loretto Captures Closings of Three Beloved Locations

By Eleanor Craig SL / June 1, 2018 /

Two women sitting together and conversing on a couch in a living room while being interviewed on camera. The camera viewfinder is visible and one woman is looking directly into the camera.

Using high-flying drones, video and still cameras, interviews, photos and documents from the Loretto Heritage Center, Neil Tucker and I have been making movies about the closings of three well-loved…

Loretto in Taos

By Eleanor Craig SL / May 10, 2018 /

The late August numbers of the Taos newspapers in 1913 carried the following, in Spanish and in English: GOLDEN JUBILEEThe Sisters of Loretto Spend Half a Century in Taos, New…

Remembrance of the Life of Sister Virginia Ann Driscoll SL

By Eleanor Craig SL / December 29, 2017 /

Virginia Ann Driscoll arrived at Loretto in October 1940, and with several Webster classmates was received on April 25, 1941. She made her first vows on the same date in…

JoAnn Gates, Susan Classen Make Vows to God and Loretto

By Eleanor Craig SL / December 1, 2017 /

Two women pictured candidly applauding in a church service with other attendees behind them. One woman looks at the other with an endearing look.

JoAnn Gates and Susan Classen celebrated their vows to God in the Loretto Community at Loretto Motherhouse Nov. 4. The celebration lasted all day, incorporating elements intimately warm and solemn,…

Loretto Heritage Center Learns a Stunning Lesson About Mold

By Eleanor Craig SL / April 1, 2016 /

“To find mold in an archives building is like facing a tsunami, a hurricane and an earthquake all rolled into one disaster. When Archivist Eleanor Craig was summoned to the…

« Previous
1
…
7
8
9

Loretto welcomes you

Learn more or plan a visit to the Motherhouse!

Get in touch

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.