
Mission
“Community is for mission.” We strive to bring the healing spirit of God into our world. Learn more about how we serve.
1973, Saigon, Vietnam, New Haven Nursery A newborn, male, was dropped off at New Haven Nursery. Susan Carol McDonald was the director/nurse at New Haven. She logged the baby into the register that she kept, as she did with every child that lived at New Haven. “Name: Frank Antoine. Arrival February 6, 1973. From Allambie (another nursery…
Read MoreInterchange never sleeps.” This was always Mary Ann McGivern’s motto as an Interchange editor. Many Loretto members heard that statement from Mary Ann, along with, “Why don’t you write it up? Readers will want to know the details.” She also often pointed out that Interchange is contributor-driven, meaning that it could not exist without contributions…
Read MoreFor three weeks this past July I worked with the seven English teachers at the Belga School in Guatemala City, taught some of the English classes and helped the faculty evaluate ways to improve the English program at the school. The Holy Family Sisters, our sister community in Guatemala, had asked Loretto to help them…
Read MoreThis past May when I attended the meeting of the Union of International Superiors General (UISG) in Rome, I was at the table with Claire Sykes, a Faithful Companion of Jesus (FCJ) sister from London. She asked me if there was a connection between John Nerinckx, who was significant in their community’s history, and Charles…
Read MoreAs a follow up to our Assembly Proposal 7 to raise the wages of our employees, our Community Group 16 decided to take the next step. First, we celebrated the fact that Loretto leadership acted on our Assembly proposal and approved raises in the 2019 budget for $1.50 an hour across the board and a…
Read MoreThe Loretto Mission Activities Team represents the Community committees, networks and some offices. They met at the Motherhouse to share their work and develop strategies to do it better. They reviewed Loretto’s five-year goals and recent Assembly resolutions on immigration and sustainability. Representatives of the Pakistan, Guatemala, Peace and Latin America/Caribbean committees, the Earth and…
Read MoreEvery year we grow different vegetables and share them with our neighbors. Last year when I was at the Motherhouse, Nancy Wittwer very generously offered to help me to buy good seeds, which are now giving life and strength to many. We never use any pesticides in our garden; it is organic. We are very…
Read MoreSix young women from outside Lahore and ten teachers from our school joined the Loretto sisters for a three-day discernment retreat. The first day began with these questions: Why am I here on this planet earth? What is the meaning of my life? Where is God calling me? What gives me energy and joy? What…
Read MoreMary Ann McGivern opened the first day of the August Loretto Link gathering relating a story from her novitiate days that taught her that solemn times can include the delight of friendship and celebration. By the last day we knew that 31 people had been shot and killed in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio. Our…
Read MorelIia Delio muses on the future of religious life: “I anticipate religious life in the 21st century will be more provisional and local than institutional and permanent. … What form will this new type of religious life take? Many forms, for love and compassion know no bounds.” Ilia suggests “our challenge is to make a radical shift in our thinking…
Read MoreAs a participant in LCWR’s Collaborative Leadership Development Program (CLDP) in 2013-2014, I recently was invited to attend this year’s Leadership Collaborative Biennial Conference in Chicago as a participant on a panel. The Leadership Collaborative (LC) was created to support the vowed, associates and co-members who had completed CLDP. It was designed, in the words…
Read MoreWe aspire to be inclusive. We work for justice. Today, these core Loretto values call us to develop an understanding about gender identity as an element of individual identity. For many of us, this is new. For many in our society, especially members of generations younger than ours, this is neither new nor unfamiliar. Learning…
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