Mission
“Community is for mission.” We strive to bring the healing spirit of God into our world. Learn more about how we serve.
By Alice Kitchen and Eleanor Craig The good news is that Loretto is a part of making the lives of low-wage workers more livable. Not only did we take action at our 2018 Assembly when we passed Proposal #7 committing to increasing the wages of our own staff, but we actually did it! As of…
Read More
By Mary Ann Gleason Her name is Juliette. She is a 14-year-old orphan, malnourished secondary to vomiting whatever she eats or drinks because of a stricture in her esophagus. She accidentally swallowed a coin when she was 3 that remained until surgically removed when she was 10. By then, it had caused two fistulas in…
Read More
When I read the November announcement from Loretto President Pearl McGivney that there was an urgent need for volunteers in El Paso, Texas, I decided to respond and make myself available. Why not? I was retired, liked to travel and was willing to “do whatever” to help. The specific call was to assist at one…
Read More
(Editor’s Note: Part 1: A reflection at the one-year anniversary of the Nov. 4, 2017, vow celebration.) JoAnn Gates and I recently visited Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky where I was fascinated by tree roots growing around large boulders in their search for soil. Just as tree roots are drawn around obstacles toward the…
Read More
On the 257th birthday of Charles Nerinckx, Oct. 2 of this year, the St. Louis Loretto Community and more than 600 students and faculty of Nerinx Hall gathered to celebrate our shared past and our deeply-linked future. Beginning with an all-school Mass in the gym, Loretto spirit was clearly woven through the day of activities,…
Read More
(Photos courtesy of Claudia Calzetta SL)
Read More
The needs of immigrants and refugees are dire, especially in this political and social atmosphere. The Loretto Community generously set aside a grant fund of $75,000 to use this year expressly for immigrant and refugee services. The maximum given to each applicant was $5,000. Fifteen groups received money. As of July 22, all of the…
Read More
By Pat McCormick and Byron Plumley Aug. 6-9 marked the 73rd commemoration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that introduced the violence of the nuclear age. For the coming year the Loretto Peace Committee has chosen to focus on a nonviolent response to militarism. As part of that focus we are reflecting on…
Read More
“Oh, honey, I listen to you all the time! Madeleine Albright With these words Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton, greeted Maureen Fiedler before air-time on the radio show “Interfaith Voices,” a public radio newsmagazine on world religions, spirituality and ethics that is syndicated on 69 public and community radio stations…
Read More
For 11 years Mary Margaret Murphy has been the caseworker at Villa Maria in El Paso, accompanying and guiding women through transition from homelessness, addiction, mental illness and incarceration to stability and wellness. As she prepared to retire, Villa Maria gave her a party, and the Rio Grande Catholic came to interview her. Mary Marg…
Read MoreEarlier this year, the Loretto Executive Committee designated $50,000 to be allocated to projects or programs in which Loretto Community members are involved. Community members were invited to submit proposals. In all, 23 Community members requested funding for 20 groups or projects. We funded all the projects, and checks were mailed in June. We were…
Read More
By Buffy Boesen This past July 6, Maria Daniel, Kathy Wright, Barbara Nicholas, Kathleen Corbett, Jane German and Buffy Boesen met with WaterStep in Louisville. WaterStep developed the water filtration system that the Pakistani Doctors’ Association donated to the Sisters of Loretto in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Unfortunately, our sisters had to leave the system at St.…
Read More
