Loretto Magazine – Summer 2025
Posted on June 23, 2025, by Loretto Community
Read Loretto Magazine
Loretto Spotlight Video – Regina Drey SL
A letter from President Buffy Boesen SL
You make a difference!
These days as we both grieve the loss of Pope Francis and welcome Pope Leo XIV to lead us, we gather in prayer with gratitude for Francis, and gratitude for Leo as we follow him, creating a just and peaceful world.
Read the entire letter here.
St. Mary’s Academy celebrates Loretto and Earth
St. Mary’s Academy students in Denver created prayer flags for Earth Day, April 25. Calling their commemoration “Be Loretto Day/Earth Day,” the creative effort was aligned with the Students Spark Peace Rebuild Project, an organization St. Mary’s has worked with for many years.
Read the story here.
Pancratia Hall re-design wins award
Pancratia Hall Lofts on the Loretto Heights campus in Denver recently was awarded a 2025 Mayor’s Design Award in the Affordability – Existing Buildings category. The building, known as Pan Hall in Loretto circles, has been redeveloped by Jim Hartman and Susan Ely of Westside Investment Partners, who purchased the property in 2018. It now includes 74 affordable apartments.
Read the story here.
Operation Babylift: A return to Vietnam 50 years later
In March and April of this year, Mary Nelle Gage SL and Ruth Routten CoL escorted former Vietnamese adoptees and their families to Vietnam to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Operation Babylift. The group ate together, traveled the country together, grieved and laughed together.
Read the story here.
Loretto continues efforts to heal Earth
Loretto Motherhouse Community members and staff continually look at how to further reduce Loretto’s carbon footprint and protect Earth.
Read the story here.
Cedars of Peace cabin refurbished, ready for visitors
In keeping with the tradition of repurposing wood and other materials at the Loretto Motherhouse retreat centers, a recently-refurbished cabin at Cedars of Peace now boasts a stunning floor made of wood whose many knots led it to be rejected for another Motherhouse project.
Read the story here.
For the beauty of the Earth … planting trees, fostering healing
Loretto treasures the beauty of trees, in addition to the immense benefits they bestow on humanity and all life. Trees are often called the “lungs” of our planet, and planting them is one of the most beneficial actions we can take to heal Earth and mitigate climate change. The value of a tree is beyond calculation.
Read the story here.
Loretto Motherhouse Farm educates for Earth’s future
From intensively rotating cattle, to restoring native habitat, to using no-till practices and cover crops, the Loretto Motherhouse Farm strives to regenerate the soil, leaving this land healthier than we found it. Under the care of Farm Director Cody Rakes are nearly 800 acres, including land in grain crops, cattle pastures, native plantings for pollinators and wildlife, managed woodlands and numerous lakes, ponds, streams and creeks.
Read the story here.
Loretto Land Ethic
As Friends of Mary at the Foot of the Cross, we are called to care for Earth in its pain, to celebrate its beauty and to create space for its healing. Land is our common heritage, owned by no one, responsibly tended and cared for by multiple generations of diverse peoples.
Read the story here.
Loretto Motherhouse a bird haven
One evening during the 1990s when I was in my retreat cabin at Cedars of Peace on the Motherhouse grounds, I heard an unusual noise, like a whinny, at my window. I turned to look and saw an Eastern screech owl sitting on my window sill staring in at me with unblinking large yellow eyes.
Read the story here.
Birdsong: One spring morning at Loretto Motherhouse
Enjoy an auditory visit to Loretto Motherhouse! Follow the link below to listen to this short sound recording of bird calls recorded on site.
Listen to the recording here.
A natural flyway for neotropical migratory birds
Did you ever spot a Kentucky warbler or a yellow-breasted chat? They fly freely in the Loretto Motherhouse forests. They are neotropical migratory birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
of 1918.
Read the story here.
Celebrating Loretto’s golden jubilarians!
We honor all our 2025 Loretto Jubiliarians, including these golden jubiliarians!
Mary Jean Friel CoL
Sharon Palma CoL
Marcella Shields CoL
Linda Gonzalez CoL
Read about our golden jubilarians here.
Carrying forward Mary Luke Tobin SL’s passion for social justice
Catholic social justice plays a crucial influence in the role I hope to take on in serving my community as a woman, student and follower of Christ. For the past six years, I’ve held leadership roles in the National Charity League of Boulder County, Colo. This mother/daughter volunteer organization serves causes close to my heart.
Read the story here.
Loretto builds on education tradition, facilitates unique and critical training at Loretto Motherhouse
Some of us remember the malodorous smells which sometimes drifted in our direction when the nearby Blanford family operated a pig farm. After Loretto bought the house and acreage, the structure was renovated and used as a retreat and vacation house.
Read the story here.
Annual Donor Report 2024
Memorials and Tributes of Honor: January 2025-April 2025
Obituaries
Postscript
Dear Loretto Friends,
You don’t have to look far these days to read about the benefits of feeling and expressing gratitude. One organization lists 31, starting with how gratitude makes us happier.
Well, we at Loretto are very happy, reflecting with great gratitude on our multitude of donors — 1,320 individuals, alumnae groups and religious communities whose 2,120 donations in 2024 totaled $1,356,107. We also received proceeds of bequests from seven people who continued their commitment to Loretto through a gift in a will.
You express with your gifts your gratitude for the Loretto sisters who taught you, cared for you and invited you into their mission to work for justice and act for peace. That work continues. For example, one group at the Motherhouse, undaunted by age, has been standing on street corners protesting cuts in government funds that serve the poor, educating passersby. They are grateful that Community members who can’t be with them hold them in prayer. I am grateful to them all.
I am also grateful for Loretto’s talented and committed staff members and am particularly thankful for the recent hiring of Lisa Smith as director of advancement, increasing our development office’s capacity to serve Loretto. Lisa brings more than 20 years of fundraising experience to this job. As you can see from her words below, she is excited about this work.
As a Kentucky native, I’m honored to join the Loretto Community as director of advancement. What drew me here is the bold, compassionate mission lived out by the sisters and the broader Community — work that feels especially vital in today’s world. Loretto’s progressive spirit and deep commitment to justice resonate deeply with my own values. I’m excited to help share this mission and connect with those who believe in its power. Thank you for welcoming me into this extraordinary circle of care, courage and faith.
Our circle of gratitude and joy keeps growing. Thank you all!
Virginia Nesmith
Development Manager
Posted in
Topics:
