
Topic archive

Topic archive
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. Recognizing our role as one of interdependent partnership with all Creation has been part of Loretto’s mission throughout our history. We reaffirmed our commitment to resist systems and conditions that violate Earth and all species in 2018, calling ourselves to “significantly mitigate our impact on climate change and ecological degradation.” We invite any who are interested to join with us on this journey of ecological conversion. Learn more about our mission to protect Earth.


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 place here, much like the annals which each convent used…

LCWR Troubled by U.S. Withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement November 7, 2019 The Leadership Conference of Women (LCWR) was deeply disappointed by President Trump’s 2017 pledge to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement and we are…

Last spring Mary Swain received a call for help from an organizer from Cedar Grove in Bullitt County, Ky., north of Nelson and adjoining Jefferson County. The utility company LG&E wants to run a natural gas line through the county,…

“Loved places become our heart’s geography.” — Whitney Wurzel former Bernheim Education Director Many of you know that I have worked at Bernheim Forest for almost 20 years. What you may not know is that Bernheim inspired me as a little…


On July 13, 2019, the Denver Loretto Community hosted a Sustainability Afternoon. For the first half hour, the inspiration of Thomas Berry, Miriam McGillis, and Brian Swimme infused the gathering through an original development of their themes by Karen Kudebeh…

As you enter the Loretto Motherhouse grounds, glance to the left of the road and you will see a carved tree trunk titled “Protected Community” sculpted by Jeanne Dueber in 2003. The eight carved figures around the trunk are slowly…

The food supply for monarch butterflies received a boost at the Motherhouse in May with the planting of 4 acres of milkweed and other plants favored by pollinators. Last fall, Infirmary physician Dr. Lida Oxnard brought a mesh cage with…

21 June 2019 RITUAL PREPARATION: Decorate the ritual meeting place with the Summer Solstice colors of yellow, green and blue. These colors represent a festival of community sharing and planetary awareness as well as the colors of the sun, earth…


Pentecost Sunday, June 9, 2019Reflection from the Loretto Earth Network We read in Acts 2: “When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded…