Loretto at the UN: History
Our Foundation
In 1991, Mary Luke Tobin SL proposed at the Loretto Assembly to apply for UN accreditation and have an appointed representative. Loretto had already been involved in the UN through members attending the World Conference for Women in 1980 and providing UN briefings for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Loretto gained official NGO status in 1992 and thus the official presence of the Loretto Community (Sisters of Loretto) began at United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Our 30th Anniversary
We spent summer and fall 2021 researching and celebrating 30 years of Loretto at the UN. We recognized this huge milestone by collecting more materials and interviews for our archive and creating a wonderful presentation sharing our past legacy and our present reflections. You can watch our November 2021 presentation for the Loretto Assembly below.
Our Representatives: Past and Present
Pat Kenoyer SL (1991-1995): Pat served as Loretto’s first representative at the UN and helped advocate for the Going Global campaign that started our process of NGO accreditation. 
Edwin Mary McBride SL (1991-1995): Edwin Mary served alongside Pat Kenoyer as an alternate. 
Nancy Finneran SL (1995-2000): Nancy was our second UN Representative and attended the Rio +5 Conference on Environment & Development in 1995 with our current UN Rep, Beth Blissman. 
Betty Obal SL (2000-2004): Betty was particularly focused on nuclear disarmament and attended the 1998 UNESCO Conference in Stockholm to be a peace and disarmament advocate for Loretto. 
Mary Peter Bruce SL (2004-2008): Mary Peter focused on indigenous issues while at the UN, primarily through the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 
Sally Dunne CoL (2008-2016): Sally began the program to bring many of our Loretto students to the UN for Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and advocated for the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
Beth Blissman, CoL (2017-Present): Beth is our current representative. Her bio is available on the staff page.
