Santa Fe: The Land of Our Lady of Light

Mother Magdalen Hayden had a devotion to Our Lady of Light. Whether that’s why the school in Santa Fe, NM, was so named, we don’t know. We do know that about eight years after the Loretto sisters arrived in Santa Fe in 1852, Archbishop Lamy gave them the “Our Lady of Light” painting by Mexican artist Miguel Cabrera. It hung in the school until the school closed in 1969 and then hung at the Denver Center. It was on loan in Santa Fe for several years, and on Sept. 19, 2022, 170 years after the sisters first arrived, Loretto gave “Our Lady of Light” to the Santa Fe Museum of Spanish Colonial Art.

Eleanor Craig made the presentation, telling about Loretto’s journey to Santa Fe, our work there and our decision to leave this portion of our legacy in Santa Fe. Then Donna Pierce from the Spanish Colonial Arts Society spoke, showing slides of other works of Miguel Cabrera, describing an investigation of how the painting had come to Santa Fe and where it had been hung, and giving an explanation of colonial art. Santa Fe’s culture has been formed by Spaniards, Mexicans, Aztecs, Mayas, Hopis, Navajos and more. The museum is a treasure house of cultural growth, an expression of the city’s absorption of its colonists.

Fifty-one Lorettos came to Santa Fe to make the gift and to welcome our newest co-member, Allison Lemons, who made her commitment in the famed Loretto Chapel. Jeanne Orrben writes, “The fun began on our trip from Denver to Santa Fe on I-25! We (Mary Helen Sandoval, Martha Crawley, Magdalena McCloskey and I) had planned a picnic lunch and stopped at a rest stop to eat. We had hardly put the red checkered tablecloth down when a car full of other Lorettos (Lisa Reynolds, Robin Marlow, Anna Koop and Christina Manweller) pulled in … we couldn’t have planned it better! Already sharing and laughter reigned!”

Lisa Reynolds continues. “One of our bunch said it was just amazing how no matter where you are, you turn over a rock and there are more Lorettos! It was a precursor to the next three days in Santa Fe. As we gathered in the lobby that first day, who is there but Terry Franco from El Paso whom I hadn’t seen since our Loretto Experience in 2016! From then on, whether it was breakfast on the hotel patio or gathering at the museum, it was a blessed gathering of Lorettos celebrating our history and each other.”

From Martha Alderson: “Paulette Peterson and I were in Susan’s Christmas Shop and were asked the usual questions, ‘Where are you from? Why are you here?’ We explained, and the clerk gleefully responded, ‘Oh, are you the ones who donated the beautiful painting?’ We verified that we were and were thanked enthusiastically.”

On Wednesday, in the morning and the early afternoon, nearly 40 Lorettos visited the Rosario Cemetery where many Sisters of Loretto are buried, including remains moved there from the grounds of Our Lady of Light Academy in 1927. There were flowers to put on graves, provided by Allison Lemons. We placed them with affection and gratitude. After wandering in the cemetery, we had access to the lovely chapel on the grounds.

Also on Wednesday, the day after the presentation of the painting to the museum, Loretto helda reception at the Inn and Spa at Loretto for 90 or so New Mexicans who treasure their memories and ties to Loretto. Many were graduates of our schools there. Neil Tucker and Eleanor Craig had prepared a video which was shown twice in the chapel and which will be made available to us all. Everyone enjoyed appetizers and sat at round tables and talked. Sister Carlos Marie Lubeck’s sister, Regina Lubeck, came from Albuquerque. She reported gleefully that she and Carlos Marie had been educated by Loretto Sisters in Shanghai! One of the Our Lady of Light students, Lenore Pressley, brought eight of her former classmates. “Loretto taught me to volunteer.” It was a grand time.