Marjorie Louan and Sandra Crawford

by Sandra (Crawford) Martin – Loretto Academy boarder 1941-1946

Seventy years ago my mother delivered my sister and me to Loretto Academy along with three other cousins.  We were going to boarding school because of the war and there was no one to stay with us while our mothers worked.  It was 1941 and I was three years old.  When I first saw the nun in her habit, I recall screaming as I was handed over to Sister Rose.  That night, she tucked me in at the bottom of her bed.  I slept there until I became accustomed to my new surroundings— until I felt comfortable sleeping in my own little bed in the dormitory. That became my home during the school year until  I left Loretto to start the third grade at Morehead Grade School on Arizona Street.

I soon learned that those ladies in stiff, black hooded, starched white covers that allowed only an oval opening framing their faces, were my friends, my mentors, in spite of their formidable appearance reaching up at least ten-feet! They were there to teach me, train me, as well as educate me. They taught us proper etiquette: placement of silverware, plates, glasses, and how to put cloth napkins in rings.  We learned to keep our elbows off the table, our hands in our lap, not to touch our food until a sister was seated at the head of our table. We were taught how to make a bed with “hospital corners.” I make my bed today the same way.  Yes, we were being taught to be proper young ladies.

We all wore navy-blue pinafores, white blouses and socks and black shoes. Each morning, we lined up so the nuns could braid our hair, then each girl dressed in a private cubicle. I learned how to be modest with a capital M.  Most days as I vaguely recall, I would be awakened and asked if I would like to attend mass.  If I wanted to, the first thing I would do is run over to a stack of black or white lace head covers and search for the one with the fewest holes.  There was a good deal of competition for the nicest cover.  As a non-Catholic, I do not recall a single instance being pressed to become one.

The dorm life brought many challenges.  Illness was rampant—chicken pox, measles, you name it, we got it.  I remember the days of head lice and some purple stuff Sister Rose put on our hair to get rid of it.  Remember, this was during the war and frugality was certainly the word of the day at the academy.  One day as I was walking outside I noticed a large store room with the nuns working away so I peered in to see what they were doing.  They had saved tin foil and a huge ball of it was in the store room.  They explained that they were going to give it to Ft. Bliss to use as ammunition in the war.  Imagine that.

The May Day celebration was one of my favorite occasions. I recall the older girls dancing around the Maypole and later, when we went inside the church, a few of us scattered sweet peas out of a basket.  I love the smell of sweet peas to this day!

Sometimes, the nuns would slip a coin or two in pancakes that were set before us on the long table, and if I was lucky, I’d find a coin, a coin of my very own. I kept them in a tiny wooden matchbox in my private cubicle.  Sister Rose and Sister Terese would take some of us to town on a Saturday.  It was so exciting to go to town!  So, I’d take my matchbox with me and carefully look at everything that I might purchase in the store.  Kress’s was a store across the street from the alligator park in downtown El Paso.  I remember Sister Rose asking me to hurry along.  It was so hard to decide what treasure to buy!

My days at Loretto were not all gaiety and frivolity, as I was often punished for this misdeed or that: punishment set down for throwing food on the floor; food like liver and onions or fish that I could smell even before entering the cafeteria; odors that shake me to this day. After watching the sun go down, sitting at the table with a nun coaxing me to finish eating, I learned something.  See, you were expected to eat everything on your plate!  I was a picky eater and would toss the unwanted food under the table and learned not to throw it under my chair, but carefully aim it one direction or the other.  This went on for some time until I got caught.  First time I heard the word “campused.” No home visit for the weekend!

Then there was the day that I shinnied up a steam pipe to the top of a radiator in the cafeteria.  The ceilings must have been higher than twelve-feet. I was spied by the janitor who tattled to the nuns. They ordered me to come down that very second! But I was afraid, fearful that I might fall, but more frightened of what was in store for me at the bottom of that steam pipe. When the nuns were convinced that I would not come down from my perch, the janitor retrieved me with his tall ladder. Imagine, campused this four-year-old—again!

I will forever be grateful for the many great kindnesses the nuns sent my way. They would be proud to know that I am still in possession of the countless lessons I learned under their care.

Nancy Pineda-Madrid is Assistant Professor of Theology and U.S. Latino/a Ministry at Boston College.

I graduated from Loretto Academy High School in 1977.  As I look back over my life since then I am quite confident that I have had no educational experience that has influenced my life more than my years at Loretto.  Loretto took seriously the importance of developing the whole person in an integrated manner by encouraging me to focus intensely on my own intellectual development, by fostering in me a deep appreciation of the humanities and the arts, and by calling me to prayer, my interior life and an ongoing relationship with God.  At Loretto I learned that women could pursue and become whatever they put their minds to.  Today I am one of a still limited number of Latina Catholic theologians in the United States and I teach at Boston College.

During my years at Loretto I met and studied with a number of girls from Ciudad Juárez and grew greatly in my appreciation of my own Mexican heritage.  It was an enormous privilege to study with them, one I am grateful for to this day.  In teaching us to value the whole person, Loretto took seriously the geographical and cultural context of the borderlands and instilled in me a love of this land that has had such a foundational impact on my identity.  Recently I published a book entitled Suffering and Salvation in Ciudad Juárez, which no doubt grew out of my love for this land of my youth and early adult years.

Donna Sullivan has worked as the Lower School counselor at St. Mary’s Academy in Denver since 2001.

At the end of my first year at St. Mary’s, I was invited to attend the trip to the Motherhouse. At that time it was a “working” retreat, so we mostly focused on how to teach and model the four Loretto values in our classrooms. We still had time to talk with several of the nuns, to walk the grounds, and to get to know each other.

My favorite memory, however, was the mass on our final day there.  To this day, I cry when I think or talk about it. We were in the chapel waiting for mass to start. The chapel was beautiful and everyone was quiet. As the last few nuns, who needed some assistance, were escorted in, I noticed Sr. Mary Luke Tobin cautiously and slowly walking into the chapel with the aid of her walker. She took great care in finding a seat that would accommodate herself and her walker. Several minutes later, everyone began to sing a song together. To my surprise, Sr. Mary Luke pushed aside her walker, stood up, and began to dance. There were absolutely no signs of the lady who had arrived with a walker. She moved like an angel. Her fluid movements and the peaceful look on her face were like nothing I had ever experienced in my life. I knew that this very special woman had me totally entranced with her grace, her spirituality, and her pure joy. I could not control my tears.

I’ll never forget the effect Sr. Mary Luke had on me that day. I’ll never forget that she spoke to me in a way that I had never been spoken to before or since. She made me “feel” her joy of life and those four Loretto values on a very personal level. I realize how lucky I was to have been in the presence of this amazing woman in that very special place, the Motherhouse. I understand what Faith, Community, Justice and Respect really mean now. Sr. Mary Luke made me want to go back to St. Mary’s Academy to teach and model those values every day. Thank you, Sr. Mary Luke, for being my inspiration. Thank you for everything you taught me in one joyful dance.

(Sr. Mary Luke’s picture will remain on my wall by my desk as long as I have the privilege of working at St. Mary’s Academy.)

My grandmother was a Loretto Graduate from San Antonio-Socorro, N.M. My grandparents moved to El Paso, with their three daughters at that time to give them the best education they could. They went to Loretto Acadamy at that time. There were six girls in all. My brothers and I went to St. Patricks, and I went on to Loretto, my brothers to Cathedral High.

The old stories are wonderful.

Each year before school was out, my parents gave a day of recreation to the Sisters who could come down to our farm in the lower valley. My parents arranged cars to pick them up and take them home afterward (1955-1957).

The times were so different from today.  The Sisters were certainlydressed in full habit. In fact, they left Loretto rarely and always in twos.

We had a big picnic on the farm. It was fully of gaity and laughter. The Sisters were not allowed to enter the house, except if truly needed, for the call of nature. That mattered not. It was a fun refreshing time.

How I love the Sisters of Loretto. As a boarding student, I think I was blessed with a special relationship with the Sisters, as were most Boarders.

In the 1950′s, it was the best of times at Loretto. The opportunities provided and the daily virtue are still to be commended.

I entered Loretto Heights College in September 1956 as a freshman.  I had graduated from West High School in Denver, and my beloved high school counselor had told me he thought Loretto would be a wonderful fit for me, and he believed I would be eligible for a partial scholarship there.  As I was a Protestant, I had some misgivings, but my mother and I visited Loretto and I was convinced it was the school for me.

With the assistance of my scholarship and being able to live at home and work during college, I completed  two years there and began by junior year. I  was married between semesters of my junior year.  I became pregnant soon after, and my baby was due in November.  I completed my junior year and went to summer school at Loretto during the summer of 1959.  I was not able to attend the fall semester of 1959 because of my daughter’s impending birth.

Mary Bickel has appreciated Loretto since 3^rd grade – when she started at Immaculate Conception in Maplewood, MO.  She continued her Loretto education at Nerinx Hall High School and Webster College.  She says that her career in music education was greatly shaped by her Loretto teachers.

Mary with her piano teacher, S. Alice Eugene Tighe SL

What a gift to have had the Sisters of Loretto as teachers and models from 3rd grade through college. On a daily basis, they demonstrated their energetic spirituality, enthusiasm for the subject matter, loving compassion, thoughtful seriousness, and, of course, humor.

Many memorable experiences at the elementary level were facilitated/led by my Loretto teachers: diagramming sentences at the blackboard; walking across the playground to practice for special liturgies; singing from the Liber with Sr. Francis Xavier Ratermann; beginning piano lessons in the convent, not knowing, until much later, that Sr. Hubert Hentzen was really taking care of me and my little brother after school. My memory reflects on more names: Sr. Mary Gertrude (8th), Sr. Mary Martin (7th), Srs. Crescentia and Gervasia, and the only lay teacher at that time Miss Margaret (4th grade).

Admirable high school teachers, each in turn, conveyed the beauty of their special subject. Sr. Mary Venard Tighe (Kathleen, SL) transformed piano tones to orchestral sounds with the Moldau. Sr. Jacqueline (Grennan Wexler, co-member) made exciting the logic of geometry.  We all cheered with enthusiasm at volleyball and basketball games.  Nerinx was an exceptional place.  Loretto spirit filled our days.  All the while, I continued my piano study with Sr. Alice Eugene Tighe. Gratefully, her persistence was exceeded by her patience. The discipline and care she provided helped me build a foundation for further study and live a professional life of K-12 students and music for 35 years. With music and teaching, there is always beauty.

Family ties lend an historical perspective: My great-grandmother (1836-1929) came all the way from Potosi, Wisconsin, to study with Lorettos here in St. Louis, probably at Loretto Academy in Florissant. Discovering Minogue’s Annals of the Century (1912) in my mother’s book collection, I was surprised to find a loving, prayerful message written by Mother Consuela to my great-grandmother in 1922. Her son, Abraham, my grandfather, helped establish Immaculate Conception parish church in Maplewood where Sisters of Loretto taught from 1906-1971. My mother Martha and aunt Inga went there to grade school, then to Nerinx Hall High School and Webster College. So did I!

Yet, I did NOT want to take the same bus to college as I did to high school! Very soon I knew it was worth it. My mother became secretary to Sr. Francetta Barberis and Sr. Jacqueline at Webster College (1961-1967). With open arms, Sr. Francetta greeted my mother from the top of the front steps, and said, “We’re going to have fun!” At 96 years, my mother continues to say: “I never worked so hard in my life!”

When I left St. Louis for graduate work in another city, I was shocked to find a Church in the Middle Ages unaware of the conditions that perpetuate racism, sexism, and exclusiveness. The values of Loretto contrasted sharply.  My desire to spread the phenomenon of Loretto began with the realization that not enough of our world knows the beauty of the Loretto community. So appreciative and impressed with all of my Loretto teachers, I began to interview Sisters who stood out as responsible for my preparation as a music teacher. (Of course, all of you are responsible.) Thanks to Sr. Kate Misbauer, I can search the archives for hidden treasurers to include in conference papers and journal articles.

How do we tell the story of Loretto? A romantic tale would sing it!  Perhaps like this: Doo-dle-lu-Doot-do-Doo-dle-doot-du-do—dooooooooooo!

How different in reality! From the deprivation and suffering of the early pioneer Sisters, through the painful barriers of Vatican II, with the constant challenges of a selfish world, Sisters faithfully open doors for all of us, especially those who need the Spirit the most.

I cannot praise my teachers enough. Current members of the Loretto Community continue to explore the next frontier of Loretto spirit-going to dangerous borders of geography and confines of prisons to offer food and warmth, healing and housing, financial aid and spiritual support because of the magnetism of the gospel that teaches so well.

Never-ending “Thank Yous!” also extend to more of my Loretto teachers: Sr. Ann Patrick Ware, Sr. Mary Frances Lottes, Sr. Marie Francis (Pat Kenoyer), Sr. Ann Francis Gleason, Sr. Marion Joseph McAvoy (Marion, SL), Sr. Mary Bernard Barbato (Barbara, SL), Sr. Elizabeth Ann Compton, Sr. Eloise Jarvis, Sr. Anna Barbara Brady (Anna Barbara Sakurai), Sr. Michaela Collins, Sr. Rose Annette Liddell.

And I ask the continued blessings of those who have passed away: Sr. Johanna Marie Steely, Sr. Veronica Ann (Vron Murphy), Sr. Francine, Mrs. Lough, Miss Young, Miss Vogt, Sr. Mary Mangan, Sr. Paula Coretta, Sr. Jocile Hunleth.

S Rita Rinker SL

At the time of our 10th year reunion in El Paso, Texas, friends in Loretto Academy’s Class of ’66 encouraged me to attend a prayer meeting at Open Arms Prayer Community.  I was introduced to Sister Rita Rinker in that community where she led praise through music.  There, the Lord did “bind us together in love.”

For many years, Rita “broke bread” with two other dear friends and me at restaurants around town. We called these monthly events “Girls’ Night Out.”  Rita usually brought Trappist Bourbon Fudge from Gethsemani Farms for dessert!  She shared her love of opera and all things beautiful, and her enjoyment of singing with the El Paso Chorale.  We talked about our travel plans and ensuing adventures. Rita’s trips to liturgy and music conferences bore fruit in dignified liturgical celebrations throughout El Paso and Ft. Bliss.  We talked about our families. She was so dedicated to her family, the Sisters of Loretto, with its call to the cause of justice. Sister Rita Rinker was a model and friend: “human and fully alive”.  Rita gave us this on a card, also from the Abbey of Gethsemani.

A LITANY of the PERSON
image of God
born of God’s breath
vessel of divine Love
after his likeness
dwelling of God
capacity for the infinite
eternally known
chosen of God
home of Infinite Majesty
abiding in the Son
called from eternity
life in the Lord
temple of the Holy Spirit
branch of Christ
receptacle of the Most High
wellspring of Living Water
heir of the kingdom
the glory of God
abode of the Trinity.
God sings this litany
eternally in his Word.
This is who you are.

Lisa Reynolds is a Loretto co-member who has known the Loretto Community since she attended Loretto Heights College in the 1970s.  She lives in Denver, CO.  Lisa tells us that she had many meaningful memories she could have shared – and that this experience she shared with Loretto sisters “shows in a nutshell Loretto at its best.”

I was at “Sisters Against the War” day of prayer and demonstration in Colorado Springs.  Several Loretto members and I, along with other individuals and communities, were gathered to witness against the Iraqi War, as we had done since its beginning.  Our morning started with breakfast, some good entertainment, and then prayers and some powerful talks by several people.  Our afternoon was to be spent outside the gates of Peterson Air Force Base witnessing against the war.  We headed out to the base and lined ourselves up along both sides of the road leading into it.  I found a spot, planted myself there and was holding my anti-war sign dutifully and, admittedly, as stoic as I thought I should look.

Cars streamed in and out of the base.  To be honest, I became a little perturbed by the long line of stern military-clad people driving past me, some glaring, most looking straight ahead,  and some even smiling, wondering how these people could be engaged in supporting the war and SMILING about it!  I happened to look down from where I was standing toward the front of the line nearest the gate entrance and noticed this very small person in the front of the line, closest to the gate where cars were coming out.  Instead of looking noble and righteous like me, she was smiling and waving at these people coming out of the base!

I couldn’t say what prompted me (now I know it was a divine prompting), but I decided to start waving and smiling too, even though it seemed pretty opposite of how I was feeling.  Guess what.  Some of those folks started waving and smiling back! I even got several two-fingered peace signs and thumbs up gestures!  And these were military people!  Ok, an occasional one-fingered sign cropped up, but far outweighed by the very positive responses my smiling and waving were producing – or, rather, allowing for.

What a lesson.  Here I had projected onto all those people all my negative assumptions.  But that smiling and waving changed everything.  I began to see those people as ME, people doing their job, troubled by the incongruities of what we all must put up with at one time or another, grateful for a kind gesture and understanding smile. My whole demeanor – and day – changed.

Once again, that small waving woman reminded me of what I had seen in Loretto so many times:  courageous individuals working in one way or another for peace and justice, full of love for their brothers and sisters – as the Gospel urges.  I thought to be against something meant you were inherently judgmental and darned sure of being right.  Instead I saw a humble strength embodied in compassion.  As I Am The Way (Loretto’s constitution) puts it, “The vocation to be a Sister of Loretto, therefore, shows itself in a spirit of courage and generosity…”  And there it was that day, “in a nutshell,” embodied in that little person smiling and waving (who I later learned was Josie Ayers) as she stood outside the gates of a huge military base.  To me, that’s Loretto.  I’ve seen it over and over again, and have been gratefully humbled by it every time.

I returned home, made better by Loretto, once again.

Jean gets a haircut from Marilyn, a fellow retreatant

“It was all because of you!” I say to Sr. Kathleen Vonderhaar, there being a twinkle in both our mutual eyes.

The Loretto adventure began when my younger daughter began looking for a program after high school in which she could work as a volunteer and perfect her Spanish.  In usual style, I set out collecting resources and helping her glean information.  One book that came into my hands was Response 2001, a guide to Catholic volunteer opportunities.  We soon found a good place for Joyce in Nicaragua, but the perusal of all those guides set me to visioning:  I could do a lot of them myself!  Why not?  My girls were out of the house; I could do something different for a while.

The sky was the limit.  I looked, read, called, dreamed far and wide.  Over and over, I came back to several programs of Catholic women’s religious orders.  Fascinating!  I’d never met a nun in my life until middle age and never been to a place where they lived.  It had to be the “HS” (aka the Holy Spirit).  Listening to the inner voice, it was narrowed down to a Benedictine program and the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky.

At this point: enter Sr. Kathleen, the contact person for those wishing to do volunteer work with Loretto.  We had a long chat on the phone.  Then, periodically, Sr. Kathleen would call me up and say, “You know Jean, I think you would REALLY like the Motherhouse…” and proceed to tell me all the reasons.  It worked.  When I drove up to the Motherhouse and got out of the car, I knew I was in the right place.

What a rich, rich time it was.  In the few months that I stayed there, Sr. Anthony Mary was my “boss,” Srs.  Mary Swain and Mary Fran Lottes, my “housemates.”  I was welcomed with open arms and hearts, advised that I was really “only a baby” (“Why honey, you’re not even SIXTY!”), and had my heart completely won by a community of the most remarkable women I have ever known.  My own passion had ever been working for peace and justice, and I found a true home at Loretto.

What a wondrous range of fun things I got to do:  working with Sr. Judy Popp, with the women’s shelter, helping Sr. Lupe in her incredible work with Latino migrant workers,  visiting Gethsemani Abbey, getting to know the ecology programs of the Springfield Dominicans, working in the gardens with Sr. Bea, picking up apples with Sr. Monica Marie,  wandering the woods and streams, going off to horse places on the weekends, painting benches, looking at the stars with Sr. Mary Luke, learning about life on the border with Sr. Mary Agnes, doing anything I could to be around and help Sr. Jeanne Dueber.  And power-washing!  I hadn’t even known what power-washing was, and here I was, washing sidewalks, patios, anything that didn’t wash back.

My most ambitious project was hanging out on a tall ladder for a week with a huge crate of bleach, power-washing the Seven Dolors on the way to the cemetery.  Many fun jokes ensured about my consternation, as a pediatrician, power-washing the face of baby Jesus.  And so much more, with so many wonderful sisters that I haven’t named.  I was walking through the yellow kitchen with Sr. Barbara Croghan when the TV began with the news of the 9/11 attack.  I was thankful to be at Loretto on that day.

We often say all too lightly:  “Why, that experience changed my life!”   It often is true, and the few months I spent volunteering at the Motherhouse was one of those times.  I was 55 and deeply humbled by the powerful, persistent, deep winding way of the spiritual journey, believing with all my heart that if one is found by a deep yearning, the way will open. My “mantra” was the Thomas Merton prayer that goes, “I don’t really know where I’m going, but I trust…”  My way of expressing this was to imagine floating in a river at night:  mostly it is dark, and one can’t see where they are going, but once in a while, the moon comes out and the banks and the next bend are visible.  Then, you just go on floating, trusting the river to take you where you need to go, always with curiosity and good humor!

There will never be words for my gratitude to the Sisters of Loretto for all they have given and taught me.  Coming back to the Motherhouse has been immense joy, and I am so happy to be coming this spring for two more weeks of doing whatever needs doing.  I will always feel a part of the Loretto Circle and give thanks beyond measure for that never-ending gift. Thank you, Sisters of Loretto.