Loretto Magazine - Summer 2017

Loretto M A G A Z I N E Summer 2017

Volume 59, No. 2

Page 6

Loretto Volunteer Program welcomes new coordinator, new crew in a new home

Page 3

2017 Jubilarians celebrate their lifelong commitment to Loretto

Page 10

‘A Nun’s Life’ podcast streams live from Denver

Page 3

In the good old summertime ...

... find value in taking a break, says Loretto Development Director Denise Ann Clifford SL

About this issue . . .

S

ummertime is likely to trigger childhood memories when burdens were fewer and hot days seemed longer ... days when there was more time to play, ride bikes, dig in the dirt, hunt for caterpillars and maybe dream a little. Even lie back on the grass and find shapes in the clouds.

When was the last time we, as adults, looked skyward with wonder? Our grown-up lives are hedged about with work and family responsibilities, community service, smart phones, computers and a stream of meetings.

Some of us have to learn all over again how to take a breather to refresh our bodies and minds, which Development Director Denise Ann Clifford SL highly recommends, page 3.

Much is happening with the Loretto Volunteer Program, and the new Volunteer Coordinator “tells all” with photos, too, page 6. Delightful stories have emerged from Loretto’s three 2017 Jubilarians, which you might enjoy, page 13. And a little cemetery dear to the hearts of Loretto Heights College alumnae needs the assurance of perpetual care. The Heights property, now Colorado Heights University, looks to be sold soon to another entity. The cemetery will stay put, and Mary Nelle Gage SL and Ruth Routten CoL have been assigned to seek funding for its continued care and maintenance, which has proven not such an easy task, page 16.

Contents Notes & News...................................................................... 4-5, 23 Loretto Volunteer Program on the move ......................................6 ‘A Nun’s Life’ podcast streams from Denver ............................... 10 2017 Loretto Jubilarians include one Diamond, two Goldens... 13 Loretto seeks perpetual care for small cemetery at LHC............ 16 Remembrances .......................................................................... 19 Memorials & Tributes of Honor....................................................20

Front Cover: Large photo, taken by Nicole Martinez, shows a peaceful scene on Loretto Motherhouse property with a road leading to Badin Pond.

Top right: Valerie Ann Novak SL, right, fishing at the pond enjoying the company of a summer volunteer whose group was asked to help those in the Infirmary who wanted to do a little fishing.

Photo by Peg Jacobs CoL. Middle right: Friends gather under a tree at the Motherhouse enjoying a shady visit. Photo by Donna Mattingly.

2 • Loretto Magazine

LORETTO COMMUNITY Sisters of Loretto • Co-members of Loretto

We work for justice and act for peace because the Gospel urges us.

Loretto Community members teach, nurse, care for the elderly, lobby, minister in hospitals, provide spiritual direction and counseling, resettle refugees, staff parishes, prevent this country’s nuclear weapons buildup, work with the rural poor, and minister to handicapped, alcoholic and mentally ill adults. Our ministries are diverse.

The Loretto Community, founded in 1812 as the Sisters of Loretto, is a congregation of Catholic vowed Sisters and both lay and religious Co-members. Loretto Co-members are those who, by mutual commitment, belong to the Community through a sharing of spirit and values and participating in activities that further our mission.

For more information contact: Loretto Community Membership Staff 4000 S. Wadsworth Blvd.

Littleton, CO 80123-1308 Phone: 303-783-0450 Fax: 303-783-0611 Web: www.lorettocommunity.org Loretto Magazine is published three times a year by the Loretto Development Office: Development Director: Denise Ann Clifford SL Communications Director: Jean M. Schildz Data Systems Mgr./Event Coordinator: Kelly Marie Darby Editing, Layout and Production: Carolyn Dunbar Accountant/Administrative Assistant: Brenda Blankenship Special Development Projects: Lydia Peña SL

Advisory Panel: Denise Ann Clifford SL Carolyn Dunbar Jean M. Schildz Vicki Schwartz SL Mary Swain SL Editorial Office: 4000 S. Wadsworth Blvd.

Littleton, CO 80123-1308 303-783-0450, ext. 1718 Circulation Office: Loretto Staff Office Millenium Centre 9201 Watson Rd. #220 St. Louis, MO 63126 314-962-8112

Dear Friends of Loretto,

IT ’S SUMMERTIME…and the livin’ is easy.

Since my youth, I have always loved the flexibility and relaxation of unscheduled life that the summer months allowed. Although I loved school, the summer months provided a more flexible timetable. My mother had assigned household tasks for us each day of the week, except Wednesday.

Wednesday and every afternoon was free time to play, rest, visit our friends or entertain ourselves with games, puzzles, etc. What a life!

After high school, I entered the Loretto Novitiate in Kentucky and to my surprise, our summers followed the same pattern. Although our household duties remained the same (laundry, KP duty, general housekeeping), our college course load was reduced, picnics and outings dotted our calendars, and many family members came to visit. Our annual summer retreat provided extended time for prayer, reflection, introspection and quiet — imagine teenaged girls observing silence for ten days!

Once we were “missioned,” the same phenomenon occurred. Summer provided time for personal/spiritual rejuvenation, academic enrichment and professional development. We were energized and ready for another year of service to God’s people. My current ministry as Development Director allows a certain amount of flexibility year round, with opportunities to travel and visit with Loretto friends throughout the country.

At this writing, the 2017 summer season is two months old with one month left to treat yourself to some personal enrichment time. I know it’s easier said than done, but it will do wonders for body and soul. My summer wish is that each of us be blessed with the gift of time for personal rejuvenation during these summer weeks, refreshed and ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

Denise Ann Clifford SL Loretto Development Director

Summer 2017 • 3

notes & news

Elaine Prevallet SL honored with Lumen Christi Award at Loretto Heights College Alumnae annual luncheon

O Elaine Marie Prevallet SL

Accepting the award on behalf of Sister Elaine, who could not attend, were Martha Crawley CoL, left, and Jean Close Bradac.

ne Loretto Community member and two Loretto Heights College (LHC) alumnae received Spirit of Loretto awards on July 15. These awards are presented every summer by the LHC Alumnae Association at a luncheon held on the LHC campus in Denver.

studies in Zen Buddhism and Quakerism.

Following two years in a Pennsylvania Quaker community, she accepted the position of director of Knobs Haven, a retreat center at the Loretto Motherhouse in Kentucky. She served in that role for 21 years.

According to the association, two awards are presented each year. The Lumen Christi Award, named from Max Di Julio’s Christmas choral composition, is given to an outstanding and beloved member of the LHC faculty. This year Elaine Prevallet SL received the award.

In 2000, Elaine began to write extensively about her experiences over her remarkable career. She has been invited to speak internationally and has had her writings translated into five languages. She now lives at Loretto Motherhouse, still lecturing and offering spiritual guidance.

The Distinguished Alumni Award is given for outstanding lifetime achievement and/or significant contributions to the community. Two Loretto Heights alumnae were awarded the distinction this year — Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh and Joyce Huffert Meyers. Unfortunately, only one of the three recipients could be present for the ceremony, Sharon GallagherFishbaugh.

Lumen Christi Award recipient Elaine Marie Prevallet SL Elaine Prevallet is an accomplished theologian. She has made her mark on the world of theology and has imprinted herself on many hearts of many faiths, according to the LHC Alumnae Association.

Sister Elaine was educated from childhood through her undergraduate career by the Sisters of Loretto. After graduating from Loretto Heights College, Sister Elaine entered the Loretto Novitiate and took her final vows in 1963. In the same year, she earned an M.A. degree in theology from Marquette University and began a doctorate in religious studies, also at Marquette, which she completed in 1967.

Sharon Gallaher-Fishbaugh accepts her Distinguished Alumna Award.

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Elaine taught theology at Loretto Heights for seven years before pursuing her own

Distinguished Alumna Award recipient Sharon GallagherFishbaugh Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh has distinguished herself as a teacher and leader using the value of excellence Loretto Heights College instilled in each graduate, according to the Spirit of Loretto awards committee. She has spent 32 years teaching in Salt Lake City. Her energy and enthusiasm earned her the 2009 Utah Teacher of the Year Award and the 2010 NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence. After these honors, Gallagher-Fishbaugh was elected to serve as president of the Utah Education Association, a post she held for two terms.

Distinguished Alumna Award recipient Joyce Huffert Meyers Joyce Huffert Meyers graduated first in her class at Loretto Heights, earning a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Huffert Meyers later cofounded Clothes to Kids of Denver (CTKD), a nonprofit organization dedicated to building the confidence and self-esteem of children pre-K through 12th grade by providing new and gently used clothing. CTKD has since given more than 25,000 school wardrobes to children from Denver and surrounding school districts.

Photos by Ruth Routten CoL

notes & news

Joey Edelen retires after 50 years’ devoted service at Loretto Motherhouse

By Anndavid Naeger SL

R

ose Alma Schuler SL wrote many years ago, “Since our foundation in 1812, the Sisters of Loretto have been singularly blessed with a line of responsible, dedicated men who have served the community as engineers, firemen, carpenters, painters, landscape developers, etc.

“There was Brother Charles Gilbert who came with Father Nerinckx to work for the Community until his death in 1867; John Elder, the long-time manager during the time of Mother Praxedes; Henry Corbett who, accompanied by his little dog, seemed to spend his days keeping the laundry machinery operating and his nights keeping the furnaces burning; Carl Wheatley, who spent 44 years as farm manager, and then Paul Edelen who was farm and plant manager for more than 50 years until his son Joseph took over the reins.”

Maintenance Director Joseph “Joey” Paul Edelen, Jr., who marked his 50th year with Loretto Motherhouse Community in June, said, “I have always lived and worked within a three-mile radius of this hill.”

When his father Paul took on the maintenance supervisor tasks in January 1961, Paul moved his young family into the farmhouse where the priest’s house now stands. As a very young lad, Joey often shadowed his dad on his daily duties. He pulled weeds and worked in the gardens and orchards with the Sisters for soda, chips or cookies as pay. By the time he was 14, he was a part-time employee.

An old photo (not shown with this article) captures the young teen up on a ladder painting a building on the campus.

Joey mused, “Painting the Novitiate windows as I was doing in the picture wasn’t as bad as when we painted some of

Motherhouse Maintenance Director Joseph Edelen with Mary Fran Lottes SL (left) and several years earlier with Anthony Mary Sartorius SL.

the old wooden buildings, long destroyed now. We used creosote, which was so thick you could leave your brush standing upright in the paint can. You were really tired after a day on that job.”

Of course, over the years he has won various honors, plaques and certificates of achievement, but he is most delighted with the watch and dinner he received to mark his 25-year anniversary.

Another task that built muscle on the young boy was digging graves, which took the entire day. “Summer days at this job had their challenges of heat, humidity and rock-hard soil, as did the winter days with their bone-chilling cold and even harder earth,” recalled Edelen.

He is pictured here with Anthony Mary Sartorius SL, who was his “boss” then as is again today. When she signed on as coordinator after Maria Visse SL was finished, Joey asked her, “Why do you want to be dragged through the mud a third time?”

There isn’t much territory on this hill that does not have Joey’s footprints or handprints. He worked on the roofs, wastewater and boiler systems, laundry, farm and grounds. He was involved in the construction and/or renovation of the convent, infirmary, archives, church, apartments, swimming pool, roof-bridge, etc. When he wasn’t here he was working on local farms and factories to earn spending money.

They have a long history, and he has great regard for her, as he does for a former coordinator, Eileen Kersgieter SL. Sister Elieen said of him, “Joey was easy to work with. We discussed things and made many decisions together. When my time as coordinator was over and Sister Angela Bianco took over the reins, Joey drove me to the St. Louis Center, my next destination. Before he left on his return trip, he said, “If they don’t treat you right here, you let me know, and I will come back for you.”

He said he learned something from all of his various work and peoplerelated experiences. “I attended Eastern University with the intention of gaining a degree in law enforcement, but home sickness brought me back to the hill. I was never truly happy anywhere else but here,” he said.

Joey worked with his dad until Paul retired; then Joey took over as maintenance director on Aug. 23, 1999.

Joey and his wife Trish are always ready to welcome their seven grandchildren to their home, which, of course, is not quite three miles from the Motherhouse.

Summing up 50 years is beyond the space of this story, but we wanted to mark the day and express our profound gratitude and appreciation from this man, who, thankfully, is still with us.

Summer 2017 • 5

Loretto Volunteer Program On the Move: New digs New coordinator New crop of volunteers

By Mallory Daily, Coordinator, Loretto Volunteer Program

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he Loretto Volunteer Program grew out of the Loretto Community’s dedication to continue providing young adults with opportunities to work for justice and act for peace. Our network of more than 120 alumni and roughly 20 partnering organizations in St. Louis, New York and Washington, D.C., now embodies the complexity of social-justice work in these times. Loretto Volunteers are ignited by the legacies of the women who worked hard before them, and their stories are cherished by our Volunteers as they work on the big issues of their lives.

Each Volunteer works full time at a social-justice organization in their placement city, but the professional experience that Volunteers receive in peace-building, advocacy and activism is just one component of the Loretto Volunteer experience. During the course of the year, our Volunteers learn how to cultivate community. They are given a subsistence stipend that encourages simple and creative living, and they have the opportunity to tap into the expansive web of Loretto Sisters, Co-members and friends.

When I graduated from college in 2014, I chose to do a year of service with Loretto Volunteers because it was “small” and “spunky” as described on the website.

It had come to my attention by way of WATER co-founder and feminist theologian Mary Hunt, a mentor I had been assigned randomly (though divinely) my senior year. WATER is the Women’s Alliance for Theology Ethics and Ritual, Silver Spring, Md. 6 • Loretto Magazine

2016-2017 Loretto Volunteers pose by the traditional mission bell as they enjoy time during orientation sessions at the Motherhouse, Nerinx, Ky.

Since then, Loretto follows me wherever I go. As I prepared myself for a state government reporting gig in Jefferson City, Mo., I connected with Mary Ann McGivern SL, who gave me the lowdown on progressive politics in the overwhelmingly red state.

Ana Manganaro. Sister Ann died in 1993 and was well loved and respected by her local and professional community. After my service in El Salvador, I landed back where I started: here in St. Louis with the Loretto Volunteer Program, but now in a new capacity.

Later, I moved to El Salvador and found myself eating pupusas with Gene Palumbo, a great friend of Ann Manganaro SL, M.D., during the 1980s. He told me stories of her gentle fearlessness and overwhelming kindness. Sister Ann, a medical doctor, moved to El Salvador in 1988 where she helped establish a rural clinic, now called The Clinica Comunal

Meaningful connections

It is important to remember that we offer meaningful connections like these to each new Volunteer who passes through our door. Such connections provide a support system and a wealth of inspiration when times get tough and peace seems too far out of reach. I was reminded of such connections in one of the first challenges

Photos courtesy of Loretto Volunteer Program

I encountered on the job. With the recent sale of the Loretto Center properties including the Volunteers’ 590 Lockwood residence, we found ourselves looking for a new home for the four current St. Louis Volunteers.

With just a few months under my belt as program coordinator, I felt stress vicariously through Claudia Calzetta SL, Loretto Volunteer Program assistant coordinator, as she underwent the housing search in January and February. She scrupulously combed through St. Louis neighborhoods looking for the perfect fit for the program, and I believe she found it.

“We were looking for something that had the charm of an older home like the Lockwood House, that was in a safe neighborhood and had a unique urban feel,” Claudia said. “It also needed to be affordable, yet big enough to comfortably house three to five Volunteers. We found such a home in Maplewood.”

But as the process to lease the house became a reality, a city ordinance that does not allow more than three unrelated

adults to live in a house together involved some additional work. In early April, after nearly four months of paperwork and meetings with the Maplewood City Council, including a public hearing, the program received approval. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reported that the Loretto Volunteer Program would settle into the Maplewood neighborhood of St. Louis.

The Volunteers had a new home.

Here’s where those connections come into play. Many footsteps fell on the wooden floors of the new Loretto Volunteer Program house in St. Louis as members of the Loretto Community helped move years of program artifacts, furniture and keepsakes to their new settling spots.

Posters from protests past hang on the wall. The mantle boasts art by Maureen McCormack SL, with the saying, “We are so lucky to have one another.” Furniture donations by Rita Bruegenhagen, Carol Kaiman, Elizabeth Ann Compton and Martha Alderson, fill the communal spaces. Books brought by former Volunteers have accumulated on the shelves.

Older photo of the historic “White House” on the St. Louis Loretto Center campus, Webster Groves, Mo. The wing on the right housed the original chapel. For the last several years that wing has been home to both the Loretto Volunteers and the St. Louis Loretto staff office.

It strikes me just how much a Volunteer Program is shaped by the home that houses it and the community that fills it.

Earlier in the housing search, Claudia tasked the current Volunteers to come up with a meaningful name for the new residence. After a brainstorming session at the Volunteers’ winter retreat, the name “Tobin House” stuck, in memory of Mary Luke Tobin SL. She served as Loretto President for 12 years and was the only woman from the United States chosen to attend Vatican II as an official auditor.

Current Volunteer Caitlyn Hagarty was the first to offer Mary Luke’s name during the discussion. Now, she can’t imagine the house being named after anyone else.

“Taking Mary Luke’s name has been special for us,” said Caitlyn. “We feel inspired by her quote, ‘Hope is an open door’, and we’re making a sign of it to put on our porch. I often ask for Mary Luke’s intercession in my prayers.”

Continued on page 8

This stately home has become the new headquarters and residence for the Loretto Volunteer Program in the Maplewood section of St. Louis. It’s now called “Tobin House” to honor Past President Mary Luke Tobin SL.

Summer 2017 • 7

Three Volunteers stay with LVP for another year In the coming 2017-2018 year, the Loretto Volunteer Program will benefit from three experienced Volunteers who served during the 2016-2017 year.

Mary Louise Pabello will join

the work of Loretto at the United Nations in New York City, after finishing her first year of service with the Interfaith Committee on Latin America (IFCLA) in St. Louis.

Pabello is from Creve Couer, Mo., and graduated in 2016 from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo., with a degree in history.

She is a graduate of Nerinx Hall High School and a lifelong choir singer.

Hannah Dorfman will continue Volunteering at the Women’s Alliance for Theology Ethics and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Md. She is from Columbus, Ohio, and graduated in 2015 from Tufts University where she doublemajored in religious studies and American studies. Hannah is an ultimate frisbee player, long-time cellist and finds zen in the kitchen.

The Volunteers welcomed Mary Luke’s wisdom and courage during a ritual they performed the day after moving in, inviting her spirit to bless the Program’s new home. A photo of Mary Luke that Cecily Jones SL gifted to the house now hangs near the front door. Community members in St. Louis were invited to celebrate Tobin’s legacy and visit the Volunteers’ new home in an open house on June 10.

“We felt so connected to our old house, especially considering Loretto’s history with Lockwood,” said Caitlyn. “But moving to a new home has given us another chance to bond. Together we worked hard to settle into the house and make it feel like home.”

Tobin House has ample sunlight, a large kitchen and the warmth that accompanies old houses that hold many stories.

Our growing and evolving Volunteer Community will impart new meaning to this place. The lawn will see many backyard barbeques. The living room will be the backdrop for many cozy reflection activities. The kitchen will host an almost infinite number of important discussions over shared meals.

New beginnings, new ‘seeds’ I am refreshed by our Volunteers’ ability

to engage with new beginnings while honoring already gathered insight and wisdom. As we look to expand the program to cities with strong Loretto roots — like El Paso or Denver — I am thankful for those earlier guides like Mary Luke Tobin and Ann Manganaro, who spread Loretto’s mission to lands near and far.

The Volunteer Program builds on this strong foundation set by the Loretto Community for hundreds of years.

Volunteers are given the tools and the encouragement to find meaningful work and live compassionate lives. They learn how to cultivate community, how to communicate with their peers in kind and productive ways, how to show up for the causes they believe in, how to educate themselves on major issues, how to sustain themselves while swimming against the mainstream, how to channel rage into action, and how to heal our broken world.

For all, this is a lifelong journey. And for many, it starts with Loretto. As I plan for next year’s cohort to begin and bring closure to the Volunteers who served this year, I honor a saying attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador who died a martyr in 1980, “We plant the seeds that will one day grow. This is what we are all about.”

Merette Khalil will expand her

responsibilities as patient advocate with a second year at Community of Hope Family Health and Birth Center in Washington, D.C. She is from Cairo, Egypt, and graduated in 2016 from St. Louis University with a degree in public health, business management, international studies and local/global social justice studies. Merette aspires to be a midwife, and obtained her doula certification this year.

In the nation’s capital, Loretto Volunteers protest President Trump’s policies.

From left: Lizette Guevara, Emma Laut, Abby Holtzman and Merette Khalil.

8 • Loretto Magazine

Mary Louise Pabello (left) and Merette Khalil attend the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York last spring.

From left: Mary Louise Pabello, Ariana Alvarez and Merette Khalil pose for a photo in front of the United Nations Crest at the annual program trip to the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York.

New Partnering Organizations Many types of organizations have always partnered with the Loretto Volunteer Program to provide opportunities for young college graduates to give service in a diverse spectrum of volunteer settings. Three new groups are joining the list of LVP partners this year.

St. Louis Volunteers and Assistant Coordinator Claudia Calzetta SL enjoy their first dinner together at Tobin House, the new residence of the Loretto Volunteer Program.

St. Francis Family Services provides legal aid

for immigrant families, youth programs, bilingual mentalhealth counseling, and case management in St. Louis.

The assigned Loretto Volunteer will serve as a community advocate for immigrant communities.

Almost Home works to break the cycle of poverty

for teenage moms in St. Louis through educational and employment opportunities. The Loretto Volunteer will work as an employment and training specialist to help women obtain and maintain employment.

Creation Justice Ministries organizes Christian

denominations in the United States in work involving earth-care practices and policies. The Loretto Volunteer will develop outreach and communication strategies in Washington, D.C. Loretto Volunteers serving in Washington, D.C., and New York stand on the steps of Junia House in the Petworth Neighborhood of D.C.

Summer 2017 • 9

On the road again . . .

‘A Nun’s Life’ Ministry comes to Loretto Center Denver

By Carolyn Dunbar

T

wo former Loretto presidents were invited to join the “hot seat” in a streaming video/ audio podcast for A Nun’s Life Ministry. It was founded 11 years ago by Catholic Sisters Julie Vieira and Maxine Kollasch, both vowed members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Community.

“A Nun’s Life online faith community and nonprofit ministry reaches out with a pastoral presence to thousands of people worldwide each day,” said cofounders Maxine and Julie. “The website at www. aNunsLife.org is a place where you can talk with Catholic sisters, nuns and people on topics such as spirituality, prayer, community, ministry and more.”

Among the main blog, religious vocation resources, podcasts, chat room and other information, A Nun’s Life takes to the road every month to visit different religious communities across the country.

They call it their Motherhouse Road Trip, and they’ve completed 31 of these, all in diffferent geographic areas.

“There is lots of interest from the public.

People are hungry for spirituality,” said podcast cohost Sister Maxine. “Our podcasts in their entirety are posted to the website, and so far listeners have downloaded more than 900,000 podcasts.

Sisters Maureen McCormack and Catherine Mueller agreed to represent

‘A Nun’s Life Motherhouse Roadtrip’ broadcast setup. From left: Cohost Julie Vieira IHM, Maureen McCormack SL, Cathy Mueller SL, and Maxine Kollasch IHM, cohost.

10 • Loretto Magazine

and titles of the podcasts online begin with that name. To hear Loretto’s podcast, visit www.aNunsLife.org and look for AS196 Ask Sister: Motherhouse Road Trip with the Sisters of Loretto in Littleton, Colo.

Loretto in just such a visit. The interview was broadcast live from the Loretto Center Denver May 11. Listeners/viewers could join a special chat room to ask questions.

The moderators and Sisters Maureen and Cathy responded “live” during the podcast.

A Nun’s Life Ministry is active on social media, including Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and others. The program was originally call “Ask Sister,”

Residents at the center, other Loretto Community members and central office staff became a studio audience that afternoon, gathering in the Denver Center’s second-floor library. Sister Maxine welcomed both the studio and online audiences to the podcast. Sister Julie began by asking Maureen and Cathy about their early spiritual influences.

Sister Maureen said when whe was in second grade she read a religious comic book about the Saints, especially St. Theresa of Lisieux, known as The Little Flower. She also read a book on the life of St. Augustine. As her school days went on, an early desire to devote herself to religious life began to take root, but she kept it mostly to herself. “I didn’t talk

about it to my peers to avoid being pegged as a nun!” she said.

Maureen met the Sisters of Loretto in eighth grade. “I’d been searching for a religious community since second grade.

As soon as I met the Sisters of Loretto, I knew it was the community for me. They were happy.”

Her parents wanted her to go to college first instead of entering Loretto right after high school. So she went to college, then to Europe and then entered the Loretto convent. “I found out later that the world was larger than Europe. As a Sister of Loretto I traveled a lot with United Nations programs, always in a different area like Central and South America, to do mission work,” Maureen said.

The technology station. From left, Denise Ann Clifford SL, Nicole Martinez, Marlene Spero SL and Jane Aseltyne, who just entered religious life.

Sister Cathy grew up in a large Catholic family in Denver. She was taught by Lorettos in a parish that really became their community. To her, the Sisters of Loretto were happy, loved each other and had a strong sense of community.

“One of the things the Sisters of Loretto gave to me was the discovery that so many people are different than me, and that there are so many poor people in the world. I also learned the difference between charity and justice.”

most of the year and summer work with the migrants in Colorado. “I was living into a different community, a different way of life. I also worked in parishes with very different people. This was the source of incredible joy.”

“The initial step was very small,” said Cathy. “I had no idea what I was stepping into. That sense of vocation carries on day after day. Later, in ‘formation’ I learned so much about scripture.

Justice is something Cathy really took on, she said. “There’s a connection between joy and working for justice. A lot has to do with being in community.” Cathy said her life in Loretto included teaching school for

Justice, peace and the land

One of the cohosts asked if Loretto had a particular charism. Maureen said, “We work for justice and act for peace because the Gospel urges us.”

Cathy spoke of Loretto’s profound commitment to care for the Earth. Years ago she cofounded a service mission called EarthLinks. “The homeless and the very, very poor live an isolated life.

They’re disconnected from other people and from nature,” she said.

Denver-based EarthLinks offers programs for this population in the form of group visits to the beautiful Colorado mountains to connect with nature. EarthLinks also has a wonderful garden in which the poor are invited to enjoy, to garden and to make and sell crafts. The effort has been a resounding success.

The podcast took place in the library at Loretto Center Denver. Here you can see part of the studio audience as well Julie Myers OSF, behind the camera.

Maureen added, “It’s very important for Lorettos to be at the foot of the cross of Mary. To stand with the poor as Mary stood with Jesus.”

Summer 2017 • 11

“We draw strength from this,” said Cathy.

“Many ways of responding to the needs of the poor can be healing. People work for change in policy. Loretto has legal NGO status at the U.N. Through this we can enter into many conversations with policy makers to bring about the U.N. millenial goals. In this way, we represent hundreds of thousands of poor around the world.”

The work of integration and climate change is not possible alone, Cathy said.

“We work with other groups. An example is our protest against the building of an oil pipeline in Kentucky, which would have stretched across Marion County and the Loretto Motherhouse property. We devote

much effort to preserving the Earth. The Loretto Motherhouse is a working farm and education center for farming,” she said.

Audience questions

The last third of the podcast was devoted to questions sent in from participants. One of the callers, Ben from Africa, said, “I work hard to make a living. I have regrets that I made money on the streets. I want to pray for people. I’m scared to make changes and quit my source of income.”

Maureen answered, “There are so many different ways to get a call from God.” Sister Julie added, “And the call never

comes in the same way.” Sister Maxine said, “Ben’s question shows dissonance.

He finds himself wanting to pray.”

Cathy also responded to Ben’s question.

“Be aware of that spark if you’re not at peace. Look around for small things that will allow you to ‘show up’, then volunteer for a project, or do something to respond to or enflame that spark.

“Is there a way to do things that might lead to a better life? A way that might lead you away from street life?” Cathy asked Ben. “It might not be a straight path from here to there, but God is always with you.”

Group shot of everyone who participated in the podcast. Seated at table from left: Julie Vieira IHM, Maureen McCormack SL, Cathy Mueller SL, Maxine Kollasch IHM. Back row from left: Mary Nelle Gage SL, Joan Spero SL, Barbara Schulte SL, Joy Gerity CoL, Heather Taylor, Nicole Martinez, Lisa Reynolds CoL, Cathy Darnell CoL, Brenda Blankenship, Carolyn Dunbar, Fr. Ben Meyer. Center row starting behind Cathy Mueller’s right shoulder: Imelda Therese Marquez SL, Lydia Peña SL, Fr. Michael De Sciose, Denise Ann Clifford SL and Marlene Spero SL. 12 • Loretto Magazine

A trio of women reach landmark anniversaries in their lives as Sisters of Loretto

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hree Sisters of Loretto celebrate landmark Jubilees in 2017.

They are Sisters Lois Dunphy, Kathleen Corbett and Mary Ann Gleason.

Lois is a Diamond Jubilarian, meaning she has been a Sister of Loretto for 75 years. Kathleen and Mary Ann are both Golden Jubilarians, having been Sisters for 50 years. This is a wonderful milestone for all of them, and an event to be known and celebrated by all who are interested in the life of the Loretto Community.

Each 2017 Jubilarian has written her own story in response to questions from Loretto Magazine. We feel sure our readers will enjoy them. If any reader wishes to write one of our Jubilarians, he or she can do so at: 515 Nerinx Road, Nerinx, KY 40049

Lois Dunphy SL

2017 Diamond Jubilarian

Question 1. What are you doing these days?

At the age of 93½, I don’t do any so-called “work.” I am quite independent using a walker, a fourwheeler with a seat and a basket to carry what I might need. I attend prayers, Mass, all meals in the dining room and things like that. Every day, except on weekends, I spend 45 minutes in our physical therapy room.

My hobbies, or as I have named them, “my workshops,” are three: 1. Cross-stitching using patterns for specific occasions, which I have almost closed.

2. Over many years I have made dream catchers, and this “workshop” will close very soon.

3. Very soon, I will make what I call “rainbows” out of plastic canvas and ribbons.

Question 2: How did you first become acquainted with the Loretto Community? What made you want to become a Sister of Loretto?

Our family lived on a small farm in Broomfield, Colo. The nearest Catholic church was about seven miles away. It was a “mission” church because no priest lived there. Priests came from Welby, Brighton or Denver.

Holy Family in Denver had a grade school and a high school taught by the Sisters of Loretto. Father Lappan at Holy Family took over providing a priest to say Mass, and the Sisters of Loretto sent two Sisters each Sunday to teach us catechism in our mission church. When we were old enough to go to high school, our parents sent us to Holy Family. It was about 14 miles away.

My sister Carol wasn’t old enough to drive, so she boarded with a family friend and came home on weekends. I did the same until Carol could drive us.

Question 3: In what specific ways has your life in Loretto been especially meaningful to you?

For one thing, I was permitted to go to take care of my parents in their home. This I did for seven years until we finally had to put them in a nursing home, because they needed more than I could do.

Also, I like routine.

I know what comes, and there are a few variations that occur, but, for the most part, our routine stays much the same.

Photo by Ruth Routten CoL

Summer 2017 • 13

Lois Dunphy SL, left, with Kathleen Corbett SL at Loretto’s June 2017 Assembly in Shepherdsville, Ky. The Jubilarians were honored that day with corsages. All photos on this page by Ruth Routten CoL.

Kathleen Corbett SL 2017 Golden Jubilarian

Except for 13 years, I have been in the Southwest throughout my life. For the last five years I have taught K-5 religion in a Catholic school in Las Cruces, N.M. I will continue to work part-time in the library there this coming academic year and plan to stay involved in a number of other volunteer activities.

Growing up, I lived about half a mile from Loretto Academy in El Paso, where I received a wonderful education. Most of my teachers were Sisters of Loretto. I liked their spirit, and from first grade on thought that I might have a vocation.

My favorite ministry was at a homeless shelter in Santa Fe. Besides teaching for 36 years, I also worked a couple of years at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, three years in the Loretto Academy Alumnae Office in El Paso, and served as primary caregiver for my mother in her last years.

The reliance on Providence that Father Nerinckx spoke of may be the main way I find that I connect my own experiences of God’s beautiful Providence and wonderful surprises with the call to be a Sister of Loretto.

Left: At the 2017 Loretto Assembly, Kathleen Corbett places ribbons on the Memory Tree in remembrance of Loretto Community members who have passed away. Right: Kathleen poses for a photo during a break between sessions.

14 • Loretto Magazine

Anna, age 28.

Photos courtesy of Mary Ann Gleason SL

Mary Ann Gleason SL 2017 Golden Jubilarian

I live and work in Gulu, Uganda, East Africa and cherish doing so. I work as a volunteer clinical officer at St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor (known as Lacor). The hospital, founded by the Comboni Missionaries in 1959, serves as a primary health facility for the people of northern Uganda.

The history of the people who live in the expanded region of Gulu includes a decades-long civil conflict initiated by the Lord’s Resistance Army that resulted in the death, mutilation and displacement of thousands of children and adults. Families were forced to live in camps for internally displaced people for years, the socioeconomic and health consequences of which remain their burden. In 2000, when the deadly Ebola virus attacked villagers in communities around Lacor, the staff dedicated themselves to doing what was necessary to care for these patients, and 13 staff died of Ebola doing so. Their inspiration is their legacy.

My specific work includes providing health-care to children, adolescents and adults challenged by AIDS and/or cancer, including the complications of each (e.g., tuberculosis, malnutrition).

Let me introduce you to some of the children and adults whose lives I am privileged to be a part of: 9-year-old Prisca recently died of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She used to light up the ward with her smile and her joy as she skipped down the hall when she felt well enough to do so. We believe she continues to smile on us. Atim is 2 years old, has AIDS and Sickle Cell Disease, but continues to take the drugs that help normalize her life. Her smile always melts me. Anna is 28, has Hepatitis B (as do 20 percent of the population here for unclear reasons why), which

Charming 2-year-old girl, Atim.

has evolved into cancer of the liver. On the days she is scheduled for her weekly chemotherapy, she insists on going first to work.

She is a radio anchor on women’s issues and is very good at what she does. Her ultrasound two days ago showed the liver mass had reduced, which sent us hugging and dancing down the hall. I treasure the people with whom I live and work.

My father was taught by the Lorettos in primary school in St. Louis, so he believed he was the beginning of it all. I first met the Community when I went to visit the Novitiate after learning about Havern. I had been working with emotionally challenged children and wanted to be able to continue that work. I was impressed by the women I met during that visit and made the decision to join. I believed that doing so would give me an opportunity to contribute in a broader way to the betterment of people’s lives.

Life in Loretto has opened my eyes and heart to the deeper message of the Gospel. It and has given me the freedom to pursue that truth through the various paths my life has taken, with a consistency I appreciate. It afforded me the opportunity to live Mary Ann Gleason with beloved and work in India, which refocused everything for me. 9-year-old Prisca, who has died.

Summer 2017 • 15

Let them rest in peace . . .

Loretto seeks perpetual care for historic cemetery on Loretto Heights College campus, southwest Denver Photos by Ruth Routten CoL

By Mary Nelle Gage SL

F

Photo courtesy of Regis University

or a century and a quarter, the iconic tower of Loretto Heights has stood atop Sheridan Hill in southwest Denver. Sister Pancratia Bonfils, first cousin of Frederick Bonfils, founder of the Denver Post, purchase 40 acres to establish Loretto Heights Academy in 1888. Loretto Heights College (LHC) was established on the campus in 1918, continuing until 1989 when the school was deeded to Regis College. Teikyo University purchased the college that same year. Last November when the Teikyo organization announced its intention to sell the campus, Loretto’s first concern was that of our cemetery and the 62 Sisters of Loretto buried there.

Stairs and entryway to main entrance of historic tower building, Loretto Heights campus, now Colorado Heights University.

16 • Loretto Magazine

Loretto President Pearl McGivney SL asked Ruth Routten CoL and me to explore options and research practical details regarding the future of the cemetery. This was not our maiden voyage on the LHC Cemetery. In 2015, Lydia Peña SL enlisted our cooperation to secure the replacement

This story was adapted, with permission, from Sister Mary Nelle’s Loretto “Interchange” article, June 2017 edition. of five deteriorated gravestones, which led us to good samaritan professionals to accomplish the mission. With the latest news of the sale of the campus, Ruth and I have been propelled forward through the past four months by the 62 lives spent in loving prayer and service on whose shoulders all Loretto stands and who now rest at the foot of the cross. In consultation with Sister Pearl, we pursued several options.

Several cemetery directors and Denver Archdiocesan officials have provided consultation of the legal and procedural requirements for exhumation and reburial.

Exhuming the graves in Denver and reburying them at our Kentucky Motherhouse cemetery was deemed impractical. We extensively considered Denver’s Catholic Mr. Olivet Cemetery as a place for reburial. Loretto has 38 available plots there where 22 Sisters of Loretto are buried already. The first burial at LHC Cemetery was in 1896, and the last took place in 1969, and thereafter at Mt. Olivet. Ultimately, the costs seemed prohibitive.

Teikyo verbally suggested deeding the cemetery to the Sisters of Loretto expecting that we would keep the cemetery in its original location. To date, we have not received a formal proposal.

Neighborhood associations supportive

With the enthusiastic support of many in Denver, we are proceeding with plans to retain the cemetery and secure arrangements for its perpetual care. In addition to the cemetery proper, there will need to be access from the city street, land for visitor and maintenance vehicle parking, access to water and electricity, and buffer land between the cemetery and the 78 acres of the campus.

The Archdiocese of Denver has expressed willingness to contract with Loretto for perpetual care of the cemetery. Encouragement and assistance to retain the cemetery has come from historical preservationists, neighbors and neighborhood association representatives, Regis College personnel, alums and the Southwest Denver city councilmen. Attorney John Stewart, from the historical preservation group, has offered his assistance for negotiations with Teikyo. At several neighborhood stakeholder meetings, we’ve heard, “Don’t disturb those Sisters. We love them being there.”

Education will continue on the campus as the new Denver Public Schools’ College View Middle School, recently built on the

property, plans to purchase additional acres for a cafeteria.

We have been encouraged by a recent resolution from a consortium of Denver neighborhood associations asking the city to purchase all or some of the campus and to keep the main tower and 1890 historic building standing. They also desire that the Loretto Heights campus be “transformed into a public use area that maintains the cultural heritage and beauty of this pastoral campus.”

Interest in preserving the Loretto Heights campus atop the beautiful hill near the mountains is ongoing, and to some extent quite natural. The sight of the main tower is unavoidable from any of the main thoroughfares in southwest Denver. Everyone can see it. Recently, in fact, Ruth and I were in the cemetery talking with a representative from Denver Landmark Commission and the Colorado Historic Preservation group. A couple entered the cemetery, looked around, but unfortunately we could not talk with them at that time. Later we saw them in the parking lot, and I apologized for not being hospitable to them earlier. I asked if they had come to visit a particular grave. “No,” they said. “We came out of the Target store in the Riverpoint Shopping Center (perhaps two miles east of campus) and saw this tower on the hill.

We decided we were going to find out what it was. It’s a beautiful campus, a wonderful story.” It turns out the lady’s mother had been a student at Loretto Heights!

This is a good illustration of why some signage, marker or explanatory history display is needed at the cemetery. In the words of Dennis Gallager, loyal Holy Family alum and Loretto friend, “Let us not forget the great contribution the Sisters made in many lives.”

Our first monetary contribution toward maintaining and preserving the cemetery came from a Costco photo employee who, when looking at the photos of the cemetery that we were copying, said, “I know this place. I go there often. Why are you taking pictures of this?” So we explained what has happening, and when it came time to check out, she said, “No, I’m paying for these,” and she reached down for her wallet.

At one of the community stakeholder meetings, cemetery neighbors whose yards have a view of the cemetery, adamantly encouraged us to, “Keep the Sisters were they are. We love looking out at the serene, peaceful sight.” Ruth then asked Summer 2017 • 17

The iron gate and side fence panels are believed to be original to the cemetery. At left, detail of the gate’s center decorative plate.

how the neighbors feel. Maybe they would rejoice to have the cemetery moved. Not the case! The neighbors openly supported keeping the cemetery and the Sisters just where they are to rest in peace forever.

Ruth told Loretto Magazine how the little cemetery came about originally. These 62 Sisters who were dedicated to Loretto’s mission of education and to the girls who came under their tutorship, deserve to have the respect and dignity and the honor of a wonderful final resting place that can endure in perpetuity.

And we have come to know these Sisters’ lives in our research, and we really want to make sure they will be taken care of, honored, their accomplishments be honored, and that their history is noted or honored in that space.

The first burial in the cemetery was in 1896, Ruth said, and 11 of the Sisters interred there had been moved from the first Denver Catholic cemetery, Mt. Calvary, in 1912, coincident with the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Loretto, April 25, 1812. That move was at the behest of Mother Pancratia Bonfils.

The builder In 2015 the Loretto Heights Cemetery was in terrible shape. Loretto, under guidance from Mary Nelle Gage, Ruth Routten and Lydia Peña, took on the repair work.

Several concrete headstones had crumbled, and the tall statue of Jesus on the cross was badly damaged.

Today the statue has been restored and repainted to its original condition. Fallen headstones have been newly crafted and replaced.

18 • Loretto Magazine

Mother Pancratia arrived in Denver by train from the east to Cheyenne, Wyo. From there she came by wagon to Denver. She was a dervish of energy, foresight and a driving force in reaching any goal she set. Mother Pancratia oversaw the purchase of the land and the building of the school. The woman herself and the story of building Loretto Heights are remarkable. A skit and entertainment program about her life was given by Mary O’Neill — dressed in the old Loretto habit with embroidered hearts — during a celebration at the Loretto Heights College Alumnae weekend on July 14. This may be the last year the LHC Alumnae Association is allowed to meet on the traditional site. After the property sale, conditions may change.

The story goes that right before the first Loretto Heights class could graduate, Mother Pancratia was transferred to Alabama.

She came back to Denver after two years and spent the rest of her time at Loretto Heights College. She is buried in that cemetery (see photo, page 17).

Next steps

We will continue our conversations with the Teikyo organization to determine if a sufficient land buffer and access to the cemetery, as well as provisions for a perpetual-care contract, can be negotiated. We need to ensure we have arrangements in place to provide for the perpetual care of the cemetery ... in a good way.

Complete, detailed remembrances and photos may be found on Loretto’s website,

remembrances

www.lorettocommunity.org; select NEWS tab, choose OBITUARIES

Jane Willett Harris CoL (formerly Jane Therese SL) May 30, 1922 — March 11, 2017

Mary Theresa Willett Harris was born and raised in Howardstown, Ky. Her parents, Lawrence Edward Willett and Genevieve Boone Willett, raised four daughters and two sons. Theresa joined Loretto, received the habit and religious name Sister Jane Therese in April, 1941. In 1945, Jane Theresa went to Loretto Heights College, Denver, completing two years of study in dietetics and home economics.

She worked in the college food service department for four years. From 1949 to 1958, she managed the kitchen at Loretto Motherhouse. Later she returned to Loretto Academy in Kansas City to manage the food service. From 1964 to 1972 she was assigned to the Denver Center. At the age of 50, she asked to be dispensed from her vows. She married Fred Harris, and in 1987 Fred and Jane joined Loretto as Comembers. Fred died in Dec. 2015, and Jane followed him just more than a year later on March 11, 2017.

Harris

Cecily “Peggy” Jones SL

February 28, 1924 — July 18, 2017

Margaret Blanche Jones was born in East St. Louis, Ill., to Harry and Alice Jones. She entered the Sisters of Loretto in 1946, and at reception, took the name Sister Cecily. She made first vows in 1948 and final vows in 1952. Sister Cecily earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1945 from Webster College (now University), Webster Groves, Mo. In addition, she earned a master’s degree in English (1953) from St. Louis University and a master’s in theology (1964) from Marquette University, Milwaukee. In 1948, she taught English at Bishop Toolen High School, Mobile, Ala., then moved to St. Louis to teach at Webster College in 1949, where she served as dean of students (1955-1961); taught at St. Mary’s High School, Sterling, Ill. (1969-1970); and also served as Provincial Treasurer of Our Lady of Sorrows Province (1953-1961). She became Director of Postulants (1964-1967) and Director of Junior Sisters (1967-1969). In 1970, Cecily moved to Denver and began seven years as Communications Director for the Loretto Community, including editor of the Loretto monthly newsletter, Interchange. In 2003 she retired to Loretto Motherhouse. Cecily died at age 93 after a long illness. She was in her 70th year as a Sister of Loretto.

Jones

Penny McMullen SL (M. John Elizabeth SL or Sister Elizabeth) January 26, 1942 — May 8, 2017

Born in Minneapolis to Beirne and Sylvia McMullen, Sylvia Penelope was the oldest of five children. Her father’s work took him to several states, and her young life was constantly in flux. By the time Penny completed eighth grade, her family was settled in Rock Falls, Ill. She enrolled in Newman High School with the Sisters of Loretto. In September 1960, Penny joined Loretto in one of its largest novitiate classes on record. Penny received the habit in May 1961 and took the name Sister John Elizabeth.

She graduated from Webster College, Webster Groves, Mo., in 1965 with a major in mathematics. Her ministry always included math instruction. Penny taught in many Loretto schools, including Colegio Loretto in La Paz, Bolivia; Nerinx Hall High School, Webster Groves; schools in Santa Fe, N.M. and La Jara, Colo. In 2012, after suffering a stroke, she returned to Loretto Motherhouse where she died at age 75 in her 55th year as a Sister of Loretto.

McMullen

Helen McAvoy Reid CoL

November 1, 1932 — April 10, 2017

Reid

This information is excerpted from a remembrance prepared by Helen’s children. Helen McAvoy was born and raied Joplin, Mo., the youngest of seven children. Marian McAvoy SL, former president of the Loretto Community, was Helen’s older sister. After graduating from Webster University, Webster Groves, Mo., she taught English at nearby Nerinx Hall High School. During her first year of teaching, she met and married Dick (Sam) Reid, a professor of economics. The couple raised five children. After many moves, they eventually settled in a large colonial farmhouse near the University of New Hampshire in Durham, where Dick taught. His unexpected death in 1974 at age 46 left Helen a single mother and sole provider. At age 40 she became director of education outreach at the University of New Hampshire Museum of Art, retiring from that position 27 years later. She became a Loretto Co-member in 1984, to the delight of her sister Marian. Helen shared nearly 33 years of her life with Loretto, dying at age 84 in New Hampshire within the circle of her loving family.

Summer 2017 • 19

gifts

Memorials and Tributes of Honor February — May 2017 In Memory of:

Requested by:

Photos by Nicole Martinez

20 • Loretto Magazine

Throughout this list of Memorials and Tributes, an asterisk * following a name identifies a Loretto Co-member.

Patrick Alpers

Josie Jackman Barbara Anderson SL

Joy & Gary Addiego

The Loretto Community

Theresa Stawowy* Marian Andrews SL

DeAndreis High School, St. Louis,

Class of 1955

Barbara & Stewart Fona

Carol Langdon

The Loretto Community

Sally Maresh

Frank V. May, Jr.

Catherine Owens Mary & John Antoine

Valerie & Albert Antoine Sandra Ardoyno SL

Jane & Henry Stoever Lauretta Bedard

Patricia & Robert Triggs Martha Belke SL

Kevin & Julie Dicken

Michael & Kathleen Dicken Louise Bell

Marian Bell Mary Victor Bowling SL

Joan Kidnay Cecil Brann

Maria Brann Robert Brannan

Theresa Kinealy*

The Loretto Community Mary Roger Brennan SL

Susan Evans Frances Buetenbach SL

Margie & Robert Felsburg Maura Campbell SL

Dorothy & Dick Campbell Mary Jane Cella

Linda Cella Michaela Collins SL

Joan Schlueter Mary Margaret Conter SL

Sharlene & Raymond Hower Patricia Ann Cullen SL

The Loretto Community

Theresa Stawowy* Marilyn Cusick

Dorothy Cusick Margaret (Peg) Czufin

Dr. & Mrs. Theodore Green Coleman Dale

Kelly Marie Darby Aline Dalton SL

Margaret Brisnehan Chad Patrick Darby

The Loretto Community Maria Ann Dillon SL

Barbara Rancour Donna Smith Dwyer

David Dwyer Anna Hamilton Edelen Anonymous

Carolyn Blanford

Karen & Joseph Clark, III

Mary Lynn & Michael Fenwick

Brenda & Charles Goatley

Joy Holman

Janet & John Mattingly

Paulette & Joe Robinson

Phyllis Robinson Margaret Grace Elsey SL

Jean & Rudy Bradac Lucie Erhart

Steve Erhart

Ernestine & Ivy Frank Farrar

The Farrar Family Mary Jean Feeney OSB

Theresa Kinealy*

The Loretto Community Reyna Ferreiro

Amy Shapiro Rosemary Fiori SL

Kathy & Tim Farrell Carlotta Lubeck Fugazzi

Ronald Fugazzi Pamela Gies

Joseph Fries Ann Francis Gleason SL

Linda Cella Barbara Gleason

Linda Cella Jane Willett Harris*

The Loretto Community Joseph Highland

Mary Highland Trey Hugenberg

Karen & Joe Hugenberg Margaret Ann Hummel SL

Ellen & Dominic Grisanti Mary Jane Hummel SL

Ellen & Dominic Grisanti Norbert D. Hummel, Jr.

Pat Atzinger

Marietta & Greg Bickett

Mary Ellen & Ernest Bidwell

Lillian & Thomas Bizzell

Juanita Conder

Jerome Crimmins

Kathleen & Charles Daugherty

Sandy & Robert Glasford

Dorothy Gnann

Kathy & Paul Grisanti

Helen & Dennis Hardy

Kathy & Bob Hoover

Patricia Hughes*

Rebecca & Mark Hulbert

Anne Hummel

The Loretto Community

Barbara Miller-Murphy Marquita Monsour & Roger Metry Rose & Rose Marie Noe Teresa & David Noe Elizabeth & Don Pickerill

Donna & Fred Ramsay

Roberts/Corrigan Charitable Fund

The Schnell Family

Louise & Stephen Steier

Kimberly & Michael Steinmetz

Peggy & William Stevens

Catherine & Brian Stauss

Laura & Douglas Wolz Mary & Gene Kaiser

Colette & Terry Purcell John E. King

Rosemary Oliver Hyacinth Kirby SL

Dolores Sharp Daniel Klein

Lorraine Saulino-Klein Martha Ann Koch SL

Mountain View Dental Margaret Lally

Martin Lally Abby Marie Lanners

Patricia & Larry Lanners Gilbert Lederhos

Thelma Lederhos Paschalita Linehan SL

Louise Berezny Mary Cernicek

Kathy & Tim Farrell The Loretto Spirit at Nerinx Hall High School

Kelcey Meadows-Lucas Sisters of Loretto, Denver, Colo.

Francis Palumbo Sisters who taught at Holy Family High School. Denver, Colo., during 1953-1957

Margaret & Donald Danborn Jane Nolan

Linda Cella

Penelope McMullen SL

Elizabeth Connor*

Emilie & Joseph Deady

Loretto Community Kristin McNamara SL

Catherine Boyle

Bridget Gallegos

Rose Marie Hayden

Patricia Heinen

Sharon Kay Hutschreider

Theresa Kinealy*

Jane M. Lawson

The Loretto Community

Anola Pickett

Therese Stawowy* Howard & OZella Meredith

Theresa & Dennis Vertrees Betty Murphy

Adele & William DeLine

Elizabeth & Jay Haden

The Loretto Community

Margaret & Syl Walorski

Ruth Anne & Jack Zook Margaret Lottes Nockels

Carol Depke Jack Oliver

The Loretto Community

Rosemary Oliver John Radovich

Carol Radovich James Rauen

Janet Rauen Helen Reid*

The Loretto Community Margaret Reidy SL

Mary Beth Moorhead Mom & Dad Reiman

Jane & Don Reiman Marie JoAnn Rekart SL

Kathy & Tim Farrell

Rose Hayden

Lisa Stumm Marija Puc-Remec

Andrej Remec Summer 2017 • 21

gifts

Ellen Thomas Reynolds SL

Loretto & Bill Peterson Helen Ann Reynolds SL Leo Marie Reynolds SL

Loretto & Bill Peterson Albertina Riordan SL

Marguerite Allan Richard Salsbury

Estela Salsbury Ann Mary Schilling SL Jean Clare Schilling SL

Ken Haner Mia Schneider

Vivian & Sam Brocato Leoann Schuler SL Rose Alma Schuler SL

Estate of Alma Schuler Edwin Seematter

Elizabeth Connor*

The Loretto Community

Carol Shephard

Barbara Shultz SL

Mary Lee Murphy SL Helen & George Smith

Sally Minelli Rev. J. I. Spalding

Jo Ann Hammer Testa Susan Swain SL

Kathy & Tim Farrell Lucy Thompson SL

Betty Knapp Mary Luke Tobin SL

Sharee Johnson Rita Triggs

Patricia & Robert Triggs Henrietta Ugochukwu

Cathy Mueller SL Lucy Walsh*

Susan Buescher

Sally & Jack Crowley

Joan & John Dougherty

Carol Hogan

Joan Keith

Marilyn Koncen

Ernesta & Maurice Lonsway

Loretto Community Group #38

The Loretto Community

Clare & Jim Martin

Judy & Mike Miller

Jean Seigfreid

Nancy & Ken Tegtmeier Jenelyn “Jen” Wessler

Anne Hickey

The Loretto Community

Theresa Stawowy* Ann White SL

Bertha Timmel Lu & Bruce Winans

Janet O’Halloran

In Honor of:

Requested by:

Mary Kay Brannan SL

Karen & Kurt Musgrave Elizabeth Ann Compton SL

Ann Compton Kammien* Mary Ann Coyle SL

Dorothy & Dick Campbell Marie Ego SL

Trish & Bill Lewis

Christine & David Wagner Jason Elder & Family

Sally Minelli Maureen Fiedler SL

Jennifer Morgan Mary Nelle Gage SL

Donna & Michael Boender Jeannine Gramick SL

John Le Bedda

Jennifer Morgan

Joanna O’Neill Mary Katherine Hammett SL, 92nd Birthday and 73rd Anniv. as a Sister of Loretto

Marilyn Montenegro

22 • Loretto Magazine

Barbara Hennigar

Margaret McMahon

Nancy McMahon Mary Jo Highland

Mary Highland Gabriel Mary Hoare SL

Mary & Thomas Horan Patricia Hummel SL

Ellen & Dominic Grisanti Cecily Jones SL

Sharon & Robert* Ernst

Rita Moran

Anola Pickett Eileen Kersgieter SL

Barbara Fagan Donna Krol

Italian Women’s Prosperity Club Sisters of Loretto

Lisa Reynolds* &

Zachary Rombakis

The Schulte Family Sisters of Loretto, Denver, Colo.

Mary Francis Palumbo

The Sisters of Loretto who taught in Taos, N.M.

Ezechiel Martinez Mary Frances Lottes SL

Susan & Gary Johnson

Lottes Family Charitable Foundation Patricia Jean Manion SL

Karen & Michael Loden Lydia Peña SL

Ann & Evan Geldzahler

Bernadette & Roger Seick Barbara Schulte SL

Joan & George Trembath Joan Shiffer

Italian Women’s Prosperity Club Spencer Spaulding

Mary Sue Anderson Marlene Spero SL

Baseline Engineering Corp.

Texcie Willcox Veasey

Barbara Rancour

notes & news

Photo by Jean M. Schildz

Pat McCormick SL featured in National Catholic Reporter for her 50 years of peace-making

By Carolyn Dunbar

T

his summer a Sister of Loretto has been honored for her life’s labor teaching, preaching and living as an example of peace. Pat McCormick SL was interviewed by Dawn AraujoHawkins, staff writer for Global Sisters Report (GSR), the online National Catholic Reporter blog. The story is part of the “Making Peace” series on globalsistersreport.org.

The Loretto Community learned the news of the coverage from Maureen Fiedler SL, who hosts Interfaith Voices, a National Public Radio program from Washington, D.C. Fiedler saw the GSR story and sent an e-mail directing the Community to the detailed Q&A article on McCormick’s lifetime of peace-making.

In the days since the article’s release, McCormick has heard from many friends, family and Loretto Community members congratulating her. “I never guessed there would be so much response on the computer and on the phone,” she told Loretto Magazine.

Among Pat McCormick’s many respondents, Maureen O’Connell SL wrote, “Thanks so much for passing this article along, Maureen [Fiedler]. What a witness Pat is to fully living her message of peace, love, fairness and quality for all these years.”

“Ditto what Maureen O’Connell said,” wrote Loretto Co-member Eileen Harrington. “And I’d add to her living example kindness and humility.”

Alicia Ramirez SL also wrote, “I am really proud of Pat and all that she has been and done these past years.”

The complete article may be found online by visiting www.ncronline.org/preview/q-sr-patricia-mccormickpreaching-peace-50-years Or go to www.globalsistersreport.org and type “Making Peace” in the search field

In the original GSR piece, reporter Dawn Araujo-Hawkins began, “Eighty-one-yearold Loretto Sister Patricia McCormick likes to call herself a ‘farm kid from Illinois,’ but she’s spent the last halfcentury preaching peace in South America and, now, Denver.”

With every question, Araujo-Hawkins drew out McCormick’s own tale of her world travels and ministries. McCormick also spoke of the influence Vatican II had on Loretto, about her civil disobedience protests at Rocky Flats Nuclear Plant in Colorado — for which she was twice jailed — and her enthusiasm for today’s new peace activists like Black Lives Matter and Democracy Now!

McCormick added, “It’s a very hopeful time for me that we now can at least work on the ratification of a treaty to abolish nuclear weapons. One-hundred twentytwo nations have already signed the treaty.

It’s a process of ratification. Possibly, the treaty will be complete and ratified as early as this fall.”

When asked what the average person can do about the thorny problem of nuclear weapons, McCormick said, “Work for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Get the word out. Educate!”

Photo by Ruth Routten CoL

McCormick told Loretto Magazine, “For me the GSR story was all personal, which was really wonderful. Loretto Community members and others are very happy to see that we’re still doing our best with peacemaking. This time of a great effort in the United Nations toward peace. A couple of my friends, Arthe Platte OP and Carol Gilbert OP, Sisters from the Grand Rapids, Mich., order of Dominicans, were at the U.N. during an earlier time when I was there working to abolish nuclear weapons.

“Arthe and Carol are still working on this today. They are now in Germany with nine other ‘Sister-resisters’ teaming up with lay German resisters against nuclear weapons.”

Pat McCormick SL (right) with Maureen McCormack SL in 2012 at the 200th Loretto Jubilee Mass celebration, Denver.

Summer 2017 • 23

Loretto Magazine

590 E. Lockwood St. Louis, MO 63119-3279

Address Service Requested

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You’ll have to travel all the way to Ghana, West Africa, to see the graceful ‘Shower of Gold’ tree in its full summer glory.

Photos by Marie Ego SL during her mission years in Ghana