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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.
Loretto celebrates its New Mexico legacy
Community members and friends gathered this past September to celebrate Loretto’s 170th anniversary of working and serving in New Mexico. “Our Lady of Light,” the painting donated to the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art in Santa Fe (see this article),…
Intrepid sisters travel to Santa Fe in 1852
Adapted by Eleanor Craig SL from PJ Manion SL’s “Beyond the Adobe Wall” Santa Fe, historic capital of New Mexico, has long been known for its jewel-like setting at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountain, and for its…
Loretto donates historic painting to museum
Loretto recently donated a major piece of art, Miguel Cabrera’s painting, “Our Lady of Light,” to the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art (MOSCA) in Santa Fe, N.M. This painting had been with Loretto since the late 1870s, when Archbishop Jean…
Tracing the Bowling Family
Updated on March 4, 2024 after additional discoveries in the Loretto Archives. It’s not uncommon to find Sisters of Loretto who are biologically related to each other, usually as sisters, cousins, or aunts and nieces. Heritage Center staff may find…
Q & A with Allen Carl Larson, publicizing letters between Conrad N. Hilton and two Loretto Sisters
Published by Global Sisters Report, December 13, 2022 Allen Carl Larson, a professor emeritus of music at Webster University in St. Louis, has long been engaged with a project to publicize letters between two Sisters of Loretto and Conrad N.…
Loretto ROOTS: Native American Boarding Schools
In December 2021, Loretto President Barbara Nicholas established a one-year research project, open to extension, on “the work in education that the sisters provided among Indigenous people” in the 19th and early 20th centuries. She hoped the study would help…
Loretto ROOTS: Native American Boarding Schools
In December 2021, Loretto President Barbara Nicholas established a one-year research project, open to extension, on “the work in education that the sisters provided among Indigenous people” in the 19th and early 20th centuries. She hoped the study would help…
The Spalding Women and Loretto
Loretto numbers among its early students and Sisters several descendants of Benedict Spalding (1746-1815), one of the leaders of the Maryland-to-Kentucky Catholic migration. Benedict’s wife and children accompanied him in 1790, settling on the Rolling Fork River and prospering in…
‘We Say Their Names’: Loretto Seeks Forgiveness, Reconciliation for Participating in System of Enslavement
God who wishes to work with us and who counts on our cooperation, can also bring good out of the evil we have done. Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, #80 Look back in history – slave ships arrived in 1619 and…
St. Mary’s and Loretto Heights Sisters Moved to Mt. Olivet Cemetery
M. Josefina Ortiz (1861-1896) was the first sister to be buried in the Loretto Heights Convent Cemetery, in Feb. 1896. Rita Therese DuBor (1909-1969) was the last to be buried, in 1969. Ten of the 62 sisters had been first…
Loretto in New Mexico – the journey continues!
Travel for the Sisters of Loretto to Santa Fe, N.M., in the late 1800s was a sacred journey. The Sisters were hopeful, tired, joyful and scared. Travel to a new land became a spiritual journey, an arduous undertaking, a journey…
![Historic postcard showing a white, southwest-style building with low trees and shrubs surrounding in and in the foreground. Printed text on the bottom reads "Las Cruces, N. Mex. Loretto Academy" The date "Sept 11, [19]08" is handwritten.](https://www.lorettocommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/lhc21_A_k_Las-Cruces_VisitationLoretto-Academy_111a-e1663600252905-768x463.jpg)
‘Que Loretto sea Loretto por siempre!’ Let Loretto Be Loretto Forever!
This week Loretto is in Santa Fe celebrating the donation of the Our Lady of Light painting to the Art Museum, as well as celebrating the reception of new co-member, Allison Lemons. Co-membership means that Loretto welcomes a partner in…