History
Two hundred years and counting! Loretto has responded to the call of God to serve God’s people. From children to adults, from elementary to graduate-level education, from eldercare to advocacy for the homelessness and underserved, Loretto has left its mark on the world as it seeks to “work for justice and act for peace.” Learn more about the history of Loretto.
By Susanna Pyatt In 1867, three Sisters of Loretto – Sisters Kostka Gauthreaux, Alphonsa Thompson, and Isabella Trealler – set out from Kentucky and Missouri to follow the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico. There they would join other Sisters in the growing work undertaken by Loretto in the American Southwest. The three Sisters traveled…
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By Susanna Pyatt One of my favorite objects in the Loretto Heritage Center collections is an embroidery sampler signed “Victoria Whitehair, Osage Mission, 1859.” Victoria stitched the English alphabet five times in different styles on a linen background, interspersing her lines with decorative patterns. She joined other female students across Europe and America in creating…
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By Christina Manweller We were met in El Paso by two sisters in a canvassed-top spring wagon. The driver looked like he had never known soap, water, or a comb. Finally we reached San Elizario after dark the same evening. When daylight dawned upon us, really my impressions were not very encouraging, as it seemed…
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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 pleasures of relocating boxes on our new movable shelves. Welcoming new team members We welcomed Ayla to our team in early March. She just completed…
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“The library of the 21st century is active, social, contextual and engaging.” – Dean of University Libraries Laura O. Reim March 7, 2019, marked a historic day in the life of Nerinx Hall High School, St. Louis. The school honored past President Barbara Roche by dedicating the newly remodeled Nerinx library to her in gratitude…
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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. Investigation in the dark crawl space beneath the building revealed nothing unusual. The summer rains came and the typical Kentucky humidity. The buckling and the…
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Story by/photos courtesy of Debra Kehl As I travel back and forth to the Motherhouse, I’ve noticed the Knobs Haven sign along the road needed a touch-up. In October I told JoAnn Gates I would paint it. The letters on this handmade wooden sign, which was made years ago by JoAnn’s father, George, were faded.…
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Loretto Heights College (LHC) campus, comprising just over 70 acres, was sold July 2018 by Teikyo-Colorado Heights to Westside Investment Partners. The cemetery was included in the sale. Among the 62 sisters buried there are Loretto Heights foundress Mother Pancratia Bonfils, 11 pioneer sisters who began coming to Denver in 1864 and Frances Marie Walsh,…
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By Susanna Pyatt Visitors to the Loretto Heritage Center may recall a display in the museum about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The deep display case is designed to mimic the Sisters of Loretto exhibit at the Fair, where the Sisters placed work from their students for millions of fairgoers to see. Six years after…
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This Yuletide season nativity scenes of all shapes and sizes grace the halls, windowsills and outdoors at Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Ky. They are a sight to behold! Most of the crèche collection featured there belongs to Anthony Mary Sartorius SL. Some years ago she began the lovely tradition of decking out the Motherhouse with…
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By Karel Disponett The parish in Belgium where Father Charles Nerinckx was born recognized his life by unveiling a plaque in his honor. They invited Loretto to participate, and so one Monday evening in mid-September four of us (Denise Ann Clifford, Eleanor Craig, Susanna Pyatt from the Archives and I) took off on the first…
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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 of Loretto’s education of young women. First there was Rhodes Hall, one of Kentucky’s earliest academies for girls, built in 1834 on the “Bardstown Pike.”…
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