Loretto Magazine Fall/Winter 2015

Loretto M A G A Z I N E Fall-Winter 2015

Volume 57, No. 3

On the path forward:

Loretto’s presidents, past and present, share their wisdom on confident leadership in uncertain times Loretto’s thriving Volunteer Program reaches quarter-century milestone New local outreach program kicks off at Loretto Motherhouse

Though the path be obscure, Fear not, for God is light and truth

About this issue . . .

, page 8..........................................................................................

T

he fall season is here with winter hard upon its heels. Many of us are reluctant to see the spring and summer pass, and a feeling of uncertainty, even melancholy, can take hold as the leaves turn golden, and the nights grow cold. Our lead story addresses that sense of uncertainty.

Today Loretto has six living presidents. Recently, all of them shared their experience and wisdom about the qualities of leadership necessary to lead the Loretto Community forward in uncertain times, page 8.

Several new events have been cause for joy in Loretto. On page 4, read about two of our three native Pakistani Sisters who pronounced final vows this year.

Also, the 20th annual fund-raising golf tournament in Colorado was successful in providing financial support to the Sisters of Loretto Retirement Fund, page 12. The course was packed with 124 golfers, and more donors and sponsors than ever before contributed to a great tournament.

The Loretto Volunteer Program marks its 25th anniversary, page 18, and a new local outreach program to serve Motherhouse residents and the surrounding area has started with a bang, page 14. Finally, learn about three 2015 Loretto Jubilarians on page 16, whose stories have come in since the Summer edition.

Contents Notes & News ...............................................................................4 Loretto’s past and present presidents talk on leadership ............ 8 20th annual Loretto Golf Tournament a big success ................. 12 New local outreach program at Motherhouse ............................ 14 Three 2015 Jubilarians tell their stories ...................................... 16 Loretto Volunteer Program turns 25 this year ............................ 18 Remembrances .......................................................................... 21 Memorials & Tributes of Honor ...................................................22

Loretto M A G A Z I N E Fall-Winter 2015

Volume 57, No. 3

On the path to the future:

Loretto’s six living presidents share their wisdom on confident leadership in uncertain times Loretto’s thriving Volunteer Program reaches quarter-century milestone New local outreach program kicks off at Loretto Motherhouse

Though the path be obscure, Fear not, for God is light and truth

2 • Loretto Magazine

Front Cover: September 2015 near Evergreen, Colo., off the Squaw Pass Road. Photo by Kim Williams, co-director, Loretto Spirituality Center, Denver.

Back Cover: Winter scene, Denver Loretto Center. Photo by Nicole Martinez, technology assistant, Loretto CommunicationsTechnology Team.

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, try to stop 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 Financial Accountant: Chris Molina Special Development Projects: Lydia Peña SL

Advisory Panel: Denise Ann Clifford SL Jean M. Schildz Carolyn Dunbar Rebecca Sallee-Hanson Mary Swain SL Editorial Office: Loretto Central Office 4000 S. Wadsworth Blvd.

Littleton, CO 80123-1308 303-783-0450, ext. 1718 Circulation Office: Loretto Staff Office 590 E. Lockwood Ave. Webster Groves, MO 63119 314-962-8112

Dear Loretto Friends,

N

ovember calls us to gratitude — for family, friends and community. The crisp fall air sparkles with reminders of our blessings; all of nature glows with colors that elicit our thanks to and for Mother Earth. We move toward celebration of our blessings during the Thanksgiving season by recalling all in our world who are deprived of basic human needs — food, clothing, shelter.

How we long to share that with which we are gifted — we buy grocery cards to be distributed to families who are hungry; we participate in community kitchens serving meals and distributing food; we urge our politicians to open our hearts and doors to refugees and immigrants; we teach “care and concern for our common home” (Pope Francis). Still our hearts anguish; genuine gratitude elicits deep compassion.

Pearl McGivney SL Loretto President

How smoothly we transition from gratitude and compassion into the Advent season and anticipation of Christmas. Is not the “Word made flesh” the embodiment of the compassion of the Divine? Is not this Christ born within us, living among us and loving through us still? Do we not know the presence of the Christ as we witness each other’s compassion in action?

It certainly is an historic event to have five living past presidents of Loretto, the current president, and potential future leadership within Loretto’s Volunteer Program and newly vowed Sisters of Loretto modeling leadership. Thus, focusing on leadership past, present and future within the Loretto Community, Loretto Magazine herein issues a clarion call to each of us to claim our role as leaders in our suffering world.

May we each be gift, blessing, compassion and hope for each other and for all whom we serve in Christ’s name.

With great gratitude to all Loretto’s benefactors,

Pearl McGivney SL President

The Peace Pole at Loretto Motherhouse, Nerinx., Ky. Photo by Peg Jacobs CoL.

notes & news

notes & news

Sisters Maria Daniel and Samina Iqbal make final vows

By Maureen Fiedler SL NERINX, Ky. — Loretto is reaching out … “beyond boundaries …” (I Am the Way, Article 35). That was the theme of Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL’s homily at the liturgy celebrating the final vows of Maria Daniel and Samina Iqbal in the Motherhouse church Aug. 8, 2015.

Mary Catherine noted that the “House of Loretto” has often seemed more like a mobile home than a single foundation … leading us out of Kentucky to Missouri, to Santa Fe, China, Latin America and countless other places … and now … to Pakistan. “We are in good company,” she said, “when we say that the future is unknown to us.”

The celebration of the final vows began the evening of Aug. 7 in that same Motherhouse church. The Loretto Community present joined Maria and Samina for a ceremony commonly practiced in Pakistani society before a wedding or a vowed commitment.

Community members came forward, one by one, to bless Samina and Maria with oil on their foreheads and henna on their hands. Then Maria and Samina went throughout the congregation to bless each person with oil.

The next morning at Mass … Maria and Samina each spoke before pronouncing

Webster University offers three new scholarships to students graduating from Loretto high schools

Scholarships honor Webster’s original founders, the Sisters of Loretto

By Patrick Giblin ST. LOUIS — Webster University has established new scholarships to honor the Sisters of Loretto, the founders of the University, and to strengthen ties between Webster University and high schools established by Loretto. Starting next year and annually thereafter, three Webster University Loretto Community scholarships will be available to graduating seniors from Lorettoaffiliated high schools who intend to enroll at Webster University.

From left: Father Irwin Mouser, Loretto Vice President Vicki Schwartz SL, Sisters Samina Iqbal and Maria Daniel, and Loretto President Pearl McGivney SL. Below: These Sisters dressed in white saris, the traditonal religious garb of Pakistan, stand with their fellow Pakistani Sister Nasreen Daniel, second from right.

vows. Maria, reflecting on her vocation, recalled that “the deepest prayer I have ever said was without a single word. It was when I held the hands of the grieving people in Peshawar after the church bombing where so many were killed. … I felt my Loretto commitment come to life.”

She was referring to the suicide bombing of a church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in Sept.

2013, which took at least 81 lives and wounded many more. Maria, Samina and

their fellow Sister Nasreen Daniel went to Peshawar after that bombing in a courageous act of solidarity and an effort to help.

Samina echoed that spirit: “I am able to go wherever needed. This availability for mission calls me to live in a spirit of trust following in the footsteps of Jesus. …

The situation in Pakistan is growing more and more risky. We live in a dangerous world, but it is ‘home’. We have hope.

Many sisters who have gone before us knew dangers and fears. Their courage, concerns, their lives in community are a legacy of hope for us.”

“These scholarships recognize the history, mission and service heritage of the Sisters of Loretto and honors their rich tradition of making higher education available to young women,” said Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble, president of Webster University.

“I am delighted to use this Centennial year to build new bonds among our institutions. Our histories are shared, and we wish to mark this occasion with a commitment to a shared future.”

Three students each will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship. The award is renewable for a total of four years.

To be eligible for the award, the seniors must have graduated from one of these high schools: Nerinx Hall High School in Webster Groves, Mo.; Loretto Academy in El Paso, Texas; or St. Mary’s Academy in Denver. Eligible students will have a 3.0 or higher cumulative grade point average and an ACT score of 21 or higher, or a combined SAT reading and math score of 1,000 or higher.

Like Webster University, all three high schools were established by the Sisters of Loretto to provide young women with an education. The Sisters of Loretto established hundreds of grade schools and high schools across the United States during the past two centuries, but over time, many were absorbed by other Catholic schools or closed. The three schools are the last of the Loretto-founded high schools in the United States that are still affiliated with the Community. The Havern School, a school for learning-disabled children in Colorado, also is affiliated with the Sisters of Loretto.

Webster University was founded in 1915 as an all-female institution. Although all three high school programs enroll only females (El Paso and St. Mary’s accept boys in the primary grades), Webster University began admitting men to a limited number of programs in 1963 and became fully co-educational in 1967.

This is one more way that we can build connections with our communities that will enhance Webster University’s second century with exceptional students who will become exceptional alumni committed to global citizenship and individual excellence,” Stroble said. “We look forward to welcoming the first Webster University Loretto Community Scholars in fall 2016.”

Banner by Nicole Martinez

Then Maria, followed by Samina, pronounced final vows in both English and Urdu. Loretto President Pearl McGivney SL and Vice President Vicki Schwartz SL formally received their vows. The congregation stood in applause. After communion, Nasreen Daniel thanked the Loretto Community in both English and Punjabi, for joining with them in the Pakistan mission. The Mass was followed by a festive dinner, and later a special evening celebration complete with Pakistani food, song and dance.

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Fall-Winter 2015 • 5

notes & news

notes & news

Commemorative book marks Webster University’s Centennial

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ebster University Press has published a large, hardcover book to commemorate the institution’s first 100 years. “Since 1915, Webster University has grown from a small Catholic women’s college to a co-ed institution with more than 20,000 students around the world. Throughout the past 100 years, Webster students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members have grown the university into a vibrant global network,” according to sources at Webster University in St. Louis. The book, “Webster University: A Century of Defining Moments,” details the original founding of Webster College by the Sisters of Loretto, its distinctive approach to education, its expansion into a university, its commitment to diversity, community service and sustainability, and the global growth of the university today.

“Webster University’s story is as compelling today as it was in 1915, said Webster President Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble. “The stories of defining moments in Webster’s history help us celebrate the resilience and courage that has characterized this community throughout our first century. As the same time, our Centennial year and this publication point to the global impact Webster seeks in our next century.”

Lydia Peña SL to be inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame

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eloved educator, author, artist, art historian, community leader and fundraiser, Lydia Peña SL taught in Denver schools — St. Mary’s Academy, Loretto Heights College, Regis University — for nearly 50 years,” wrote a representative of the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame at the recent announcement of 10 women who will be inducted into the Hall at a gala dinner, March 16, 2016.

The organization was founded in 1984 as a non-profit organization to recognize women’s contributions to the territory and state of Colorado and to provide role models for young girls and women.

Lydia’s last years at Regis University, Denver, were in University Relations. She became passionate about raising funds for need-based scholarships for students to receive the quality, values-based education she received at Loretto Heights College, Denver. “There she established scholarship endowments, especially for low-income Latinos. She served as past chair of the Commission of Cultural

Laura Rein, dean of University Libraries and editor of Webster University Press, said, “Through a rich array of historic and current photos with accompanying text, we’ve been able to capture the spirit of the university and truly celebrate our history and our present while looking toward our future.”

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/webster100book.

Photos by Nicole Martinez

More recently working for her Loretto Community, she helped establish a school for a partnering Sister Community, The Daughters of the Most Blessed Trinity, in Ghana, West Africa, and is presently helping endow a fund for the mission of the three Sisters of Loretto in Pakistan: Nasreen Daniel SL, Maria Daniel SL and Samina Iqbal SL. “This award is meaningful because it confirms that I have not done anything alone. I am filled with gratitude for the many people, including my family, the Loretto Community, my students,

Sister Lydia at work in the Loretto Central Office, Denver. She is wearing a silk scarf woven in Pakistan, a gift from the Pakistani Sisters.

teachers, colleagues, classmates, friends and donors, and the Bridge Community, home to eight developmentally disabled women and its founder Mary Catherine Widger SL, who have propelled me to this place,” said Peña. “I congratulate the other inductees and am humbled to be among them. I look forward to being with them at the March 16 induction.”

Kathy Wright SL addresses Center for Earth Ethics

By Carolyn Dunbar

O

n September 16, Kathleen Wright SL was invited to talk at the Center for Earth Ethics at their seminar “Ecology, Economy and Ethics: Mobilizing for a Just Transition.” The event looked back on the year since its 2014 Religions for the Earth gathering after the Climate Change Rally in New York City, and looked forward to the United Nation’s upcoming Climate Change meeting in Paris.

Wright told Loretto Magazine, “People of faith came to the ethics seminar, including some churches. The seminar was a faith-based look at ways to address climate change.” Those who had not been able to come to agreement on actions for climate change were eager to hear about the Loretto Community’s collaborative method of coming to consensus.

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Affairs for the City and County of Denver and the Women’s Foundation of Colorado, and was on the board of Rocky Mountain PBS. She was also a founding member of the Rose Community Foundation, and served on the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Design of Denver International Airport,” according to Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

“I talked on divestment and how do you bring a group about 400 people to consensus, since Loretto members use a collaborative process. For example, the Loretto Earth Network and the Finance Committee met and looked at places where we shared opinion and where we disagreed about Loretto’s response to climate change. We worked hard to discover common ground. Divestment from fossil fuel companies was just one step in a series of actions we might take to address climate change,” Wright said.

“I talked about how this process is important for us because it requires that we listen, respect the opinions of others we may disagree with, and still find that common ground. We had used that same process in the fight to stop the Bluegrass

Pipeline in Kentucky, where others in the wider community worked with Loretto to find an appropriate, effective way to address this pressing problem,” she said.

“It is this kind of inclusive, educational and invitational process that brings people into the circle, makes sure people are heard, and that they feel ownership of the eventual decision.”

Wright is Loretto’s treasurer. She has been involved in the Motherhouse’s work against the Bluegrass Pipeline, a proposed gas pipeline that would run from Pennsylvania and Ohio through Kentucky down to the Gulf of Mexico, passing near or through the Motherhouse grounds. She also played an active role in supporting the passage of the Loretto Community’s fossil fuel divestment resolution this past summer.

Fall-Winter 2015 • 7

Faith, courage

and

openness

are stepping stones to effective leadership today Photos by Ruth Routten CoL

No one ever said

President Pearl McGivney SL Term: 2012 to present

Past Pres. Catherine Mueller SL Term: 2006-2012

Past Pres. Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL Term: 2000-2006

that a Loretto President had to be at least part Irish. But to study the names or the family of origin of the past presidents and the current one, you might think so! In Celtic art, the triple spiral, as it’s called, contains a space where the three spirals connect. It is in Celtic lore a place of meeting and of mystery. It is both inward and outward, and holds the focus of an intertwined relationship to all things. The space could be called a “thin place,” a space where a leader would sense the need, hold the vision and deal with the mystery of the unknown.

In winter, Ireland is a dark land, the long hours of light dim, and shorter daylight prevails. But what is revealed in darkness can often lead one to step out in courage and enter a threshold of grace.

No leader goes it alone, for often in the shadows, the hidden gifts of the leader and the hidden gifts of the community are revealed and made real in the invitation to walk with God into an unknown future. Mystery indeed, within each leader.

Called forth, in darkness and light, to service.

— Donna Day SL

What challenges face Loretto leaders along the path forward?

By Pearl McGivney SL

F

irst I would distinguish between leadership and elected leadership. The Loretto Community is a community of leaders daily confronting the challenges of our times and collectively embodying the moral fortitude called for at the present time. The era of the outstandingly responsible individual is over! Individualism has run its course! We lead today as a community of strong individuals in communion. We are in the interim time of community being made more visible, more viable, more fully in communion — one with the other — as a sign of the dawning of a new era in human evolution. As the challenges grow “soul-size,” our response in communion reverberates throughout the globe and local community networks and communities.

Past Pres. Mary Ann Coyle SL Term: 1994-2000

Elected leadership within the Loretto Community is called to promote the unity of the body, recognizing and ensuring the common good of the Community as well as the rights of individuals and groups (Loretto Constitutions, I Am the Way, Article 104). Hence, elected leadership struggles to see the whole as well as all parts. This quality was well expressed by Benjamin de Foy, climate scientist on the faculty of St. Louis University, in a recent article in the Loretto Earth Network News: “Our specialized understanding of the parts contributes to and benefits from our understanding of the whole, and both are necessary.”

Other qualities called forth in this time of interim include: Courage to be oneself in one’s own integrity, to ask questions and hear diverse responses, to risk going in faith where there is no certainty nor even clarity, to look deeply into current reality through reflection and contemplation.

Understanding to “own” one’s limitations, to seek advice when and from whom needed, to respect the abilities of others with specific experience.

Past Pres. Maureen McCormack SL Term: 1986-1994

Faith to bring all to the Source in prayer.

Tranquility to weather storms, to move beyond indecision, to provide calm harbors for others. To participate patiently in “the slow work of God” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Trust in the Slow Work of God), to be human with all brother and sister humans, to accept self and others as we are.

Joy to live life passionately and fully, to laugh with others and at oneself, and to keep all things in perspective.

All I can do to be with Community members in this time of change and to keep the focus on Loretto’s primary purpose, mission and vision is to be myself and bring my best self to our ongoing discernment of our future, while respecting the best self of each member likewise participating in that discernment. I can be with the whole of the Community as well as all of its parts as we “remember the past with gratitude, live the present with passion, and embrace the future with hope” (Pope Francis).

I can listen deeply and carefully to the Spirit speaking within, with, between and among all Community members. And call forth “love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity” (Pope Francis).

Past Pres. Marian McAvoy SL Term: 1978-1986

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Fall-Winter 2015 • 9

Editor’s Note: Five Loretto Past Presidents met together recently to discuss their ideas about leadership in the Loretto Community as it, along with so many other religious communities, changes swiftly. Many ideas emerged, and these leaders willingly shared them with Loretto Magazine. Space prevents us from publishing all of the wisdom that came from the Oct. 3 U-stream webinar called “Lessons from Our Past; Visions for Our Future.” Many “nuggets” emerged, however. We believe they are thought-provoking and give clear insight into the spirit of Loretto. The five participants whose collective service spanned from 1978 through 2012 are Sisters Marian McAvoy, Maureen McCormack, Mary Ann Coyle, Mary Catherine Rabbitt and Catherine Mueller — shown left to right in the photo oppposite.

Q: What skills, attitudes or hopes carried you through your presidency?

Mueller: One of the things I relied on a lot during my time was knowing that I was not alone. I was aware of the willingness on the part of the Community to enter into a variety of things. ...

We gathered people who had never worked together before and came up with a plan for Community conversations. That moved us into the whole discernment process. And I was so impressed by the Community because people put their own goal orientation in abeyance in order to say, “I’ll enter into the process.” ... I just think that the whole sense of knowing I was not alone in this, that we’re in it together, and we were standing on the shoulders of Lorettos who came before us for 200 years. That got me through.

McAvoy: What really carried me through — and for the Community — was the caliber of people I had working with me.

McCormack: This job involves a lot of juggling, and I think I was a good juggler.

Coyle: If I would say one skill I had, I think, was an ability to laugh and to enjoy and to love being with the people in the Community.

Rabbitt: I would completely agree with everybody who said you don’t do it alone, and you don’t. The skill I learned as a freshman in high school from Sister Barbara Ann Barbato was note-taking. We had to turn in our notebooks in history every Friday afternoon, and she would grade them on the quality of our notes. That skill got me through law school. The skills I learned in law school got me through the job as Loretto president. Some analytical ability, the ability to make decisions, to be able to delegate. These skills are very important in this position because there are so many aspects to it.

One of the things that happened in my presidency was that several Executive Committee members became full time for the Community, and that was a big change. When I was elected that summer, I went down to the Motherhouse and met with Helen Sanders [Loretto President from 1970 to 1978]. And I said, “Helen, a couple of people are thinking about being full time for the Community. What do you think about that?” And Helen, ever the wise woman, said to me, “Different times call for different strategies. If that’s what you need, and those are the people you need to be around you, that’s great!” So I think that

10 • Loretto Magazine

was a real affirmation from her that it was OK to diverge from the traditional path and to move in a different direction.

Q:

Is a certain kind of leadership called for today? What would that look like?

McAvoy: A key thing is to have absolute confidence in and appreciation for the gifts that are just flowing around you in the Community no matter what arena that you’re addressing. Another thing we learned from Helen Sanders was that trust empowers us. ... You need to encourage people; the leader giving trust to the individual is, I think, a very important part.

McCormack: One of the things that makes an elected leadership job easier is the fact that we have all these people who are leaders and have been for years. We need to nourish and orchestrate their leadership skills, and it’s a real joy.

was a real passion of Maureen’s that led to the establishment of Loretto Earth Network and the creation of a full-time person on the staff who would devote time for that.

Mueller: I think we are fortunate in Loretto that we have a vision that holds us. I Am the Way holds us as a group. No matter what happens among us, we are still here. In terms of leadership today, there’s a way that even though we connect and belong, there are great differences among us. We have strong and differing opinions about many things. I think there’s a way we need to truly engage one another around places where we disagree the most in order to really move beyond just the opinions, and come to a place where we can have a deeper understanding of one another. That’s what’s going to continue to hold us together. It doesn’t happen quickly. It takes a great deal of love as a motivator, and it takes discernment. It takes a way of realizing that it’s much bigger than us. It’s not just “me” and “mine”; it’s “us” and “ours.”

Rabbitt: The Conversation Circles that Cathy started during her administration helped us to develop some of those skills. I think listening is really hard for us to do. We’re quick in our rebuttals, and I have come to appreciate the need for deep listening to one another and trying to get a sense of the other person’s perspective of why they see something as unimportant, and I see it as important, or vice versa. We’ve grown a lot in our ability to accept diverse points of view, athough we still have a long way to grow in that area.

McCormack: Those coming into the Loretto Community as Comembers bring their leadership skills with them. We just have to move over and make room for them. I do think that it’s important that they delve deeply into the spirit of Loretto and what Loretto is about and what they need to carry forward.

Q:

How do you envision Loretto 10 years from now?

Rabbitt: There used to be one way into Loretto. That’s not true anymore. There are multiple ways in, and we don’t even know what Loretto will look like 10 years from now in terms of its structure. ... I assume we’ll be smaller; the Congregation will be smaller for sure, as well as the likelihood that the Community is smaller. There may be satellites and related groups. ... It’s about being a community of faith and service and how we take that to heart and live that.

McCormack: I was thinking about the quotes on the cover of our Loretto directory. I hope that in 10 years we will still be raising these up. Loretto members are: “Grateful for our shared life of faith in a loving God. Affirming and respecting the gift of each member and our resources. Aware that our lives are rooted in the compassionate and courageous mission of Jesus.”

Coyle: I want to say the last word, and that is: It is very clear that the way of our foremothers is to stand up, not to be afraid, and to dance to the music of the Gospels. To admit we’re not sure what the next step is all the time, but we go on dancing, knowing that we’re not alone. I think we can all say AMEN to that!

Mueller: There’s a term, which I had not focused on before, called “leaderful.” It’s not a “leaderless” group, or guided by a single “leader,” rather it’s “leader-full.” It’s that whole sense that there is not one focal person. We can think back to Martin Luther King or Cesar Chavez. They were the focal persons of their social movements. They didn’t do all the work by any means, but they were the focus of it. Loretto is in a different place than that, where it isn’t one person who is doing this. There’s a way that each of us is encouraged to really be insightful, to be responsible, to be initiating — whatever that might mean. It is about collaboration; that it really takes the insights, the work of many to move things along. And in a way, we are accountable to one another. We’re not accountable to a leader person; we’re accountable to one another in a process. And to me that describes Loretto leadership.

Rabbitt: One of the qualities I think is especially important today is flexibility. You can’t tell what’s going to come in the door the next day in this position. You just don’t know what the mail or a fax or an e-mail is going to bring in. ... What kind of flexibility do we have in terms of being able to respond, and to respond almost on the spot? This is a skill that’s called for even more today than perhaps in the past.

Coyle: When I think about leadership I would lean forward. I would look at the passion that Maureen had when she was the president. At that time, Maureen’s passion was awakened to the environment and nature and what nature is saying to us. So it

Photo by Ruth Routten CoL Five past presidents of Loretto gathered in Denver to share their vision and experiences as Loretto leaders. The Co-membership Team and Outreach Team offered the web U-Stream event on Oct. 3. From left: Sisters Marian McAvoy, Maureen McCormack, Mary Ann Coyle, Mary Catherine Rabbitt and Catherine Mueller.

Fall-Winter 2015 • 11

By Kelly Marie Darby, Event Coordinator

2015 was a big year as we celebrated our 20th

Annual Sister Aline Dalton SL Memorial Golf Tournament and Auction. The tournament was a great success! The Loretto Development Office increased net profit by more than 58 percent, welcomed a record number of golfers (124), and doubled the amount of sponsorships (54). We owe a great deal of this success to the hardworking and dedicated 2015 Loretto Golf Tournament Committee members: Steve Beaudoin, Denise Ann Clifford SL, Frances Coleman, Kam Martin, Chris Molina, Mark Trail, and Ken and Rita Werth. Special thanks go to our sponsors, volunteers and golfers, because without them, we would not have had a 20th annual fund-raising event to celebrate.

How do you spell SUCCESS? . . . a course packed with golfers, a proclamation from the Colorado Governor and thousands of dollars raised for the Retired Sisters of Loretto Background photo by Regina Drey SL; Insets by Orlando (Lannie) Adelman

The day was perfect with delightful weather and so many great memories, including these highlights:

Women’s Winning Team

1. The proclamation presented by the State of Colorado Governor’s Office in which August 22nd will be forever known as “Sisters of Loretto Day” in Colorado. The standing ovation went on for several minutes, filling the room with loud appreciation for the Sisters of Loretto.

2. Loretto Development Director Denise Ann Clifford SL presenting The Sister Aline Dalton SL Founders Awards to the friends of Loretto who have helped for the past 20 years with this tournament. Rita and Ken Werth, Mel Faes, Gilbert and Shirley Garcia, Jim Saykally (his son, Steve Saykally accepted the award), Kim and Eddie Clem, owners of Sunset Printing, and the Knights of Columbus Bishop Evans Council #10122.

3. And watching Sister Denise Ann Clifford tee off the first ball in her traditional habit — priceless! The golfers loved it, and many commented on how the habit brought back fond memories of the Sisters of Loretto and the wonderful education the Sisters had given them.

Mixed Winning Team

Congratulations are due to the talented golfers who won our competition: First Place Women’s Team: Kim Vance, Di Nestel, Jan Johnson and Ceal Barry First Place Men’s Team: The Catholic Mutual Group: Tony McLaughlin, Keith Parsons, Mike Intrieri and Peter Cronan First Place Mixed Team: Becky Hastings, Brian Hastings, Greg Hastings and Mark Hastings Closest to the Pin Women’s Award: Patty Michalek Closest to the Pin Men’s Award: Steve MacGreger The golfers at the tournament enthusiastically said “yes” to having another tournament, so we look forward to seeing all of them next year, on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. To view team photos and a DVD of the 2015 tournament, please visit our website at

www.lorettocommunity.org.

Although the Loretto nuns have not worn a traditional habit since the early 1970s, Sister Denise Ann Clifford donned hers to mark the 20th Annual Loretto Golf Tournament. She was the picture of concentration, as she addressed an outsized golf ball with an over-long club to open the tournament on the first tee at Arrowhead Golf Club south of Denver. Delighted onlookers were pressed into service to repair the resulting divots!

The Loretto 2015 Golf Tournament was successful because of our Golf Tournament Committee, volunteers, golfers, donors, sponsors, friends new and old, and the Loretto Community.

Men’s Winning Team

Photos by Meghan Gallahan

New outreach program serves Motherhouse and local community

By Meghan Gallahan

Community Service Program Manager Loretto Motherhouse, Nerinx, Ky.

W

hat makes a volunteer great? Is it the services they do for us?

Their skills and talents? Is it the fact that they are willing to give the one thing they can never have back: time?

It is all of these things, and more. When people volunteer for an organization or community, they are not only creating a tie between themselves and the place they love, they are declaring proudly that they feel strong about the continuity of a cause or a group of people.

The Sisters of Loretto have tirelessly dedicated their lives to service; they have spent their time here on Earth educating, advocating, leading and providing spiritual guidance to anyone who has had the honor of interacting with them. They have enriched lives and participated in world events that many of us in the younger generation can only read about.

They have given their time — decades of it — in an effort to make the world a fairer, kinder and more educated home for everyone. So, now, in the autumn of their lives, Motherhouse residents can enjoy a new Community Service Program.

The volunteer-based program is also intended to preserve the Sisters’ legacies through community involvement and the implementation of several exciting projects that will hopefully thrive for years to come.

Through closer, more regular contact with local service groups in the surrounding area, individual volunteers and the nearby educational institutions, program leaders are nurturing the concept of giving the 14 • Loretto Magazine

type of service to others that the Sisters have practiced their entire lives.

was spent revitalizing the campus with their infectious enthusiasm and hard work.

The last five months have been busy, busy, busy. The formation of the Community Service Program was a long time in coming, and I am proud to say that it took off with a bang. The first several weeks were spent simply getting to know the Sisters individually and talking to everyone to get an idea of what types of work needed to be done here. Of course, there is always a need for general labor, but I also observed an opportunity to craft ways to get the Loretto Community members actively involved with us on a personal, give-and-take basis.

Other parts of the Community Service Program were not so neatly laid out, however. The first evident hurdle was the task of getting the Motherhouse’s name out to people searching for volunteer opportunities. Anyone who has visited the Motherhouse can testify that the strong group of women here are easy to love; the atmosphere surrounding them is one of acceptance and progressivism. People who come once are drawn back again and again, called by a sense of belonging they feel on campus and with the residents.

Some parts of the Community Service Program already were structured before my arrival, such as the need for someone to plan for and aid the wonderful groups of juniors from Nerinx Hall High School, St. Mary’s Academy and Loretto Academy that visit yearly. I was so excited to interact with and help guide this group of intelligent, giving and mature young women, as they connected with the Sisters and with the roots of the Loretto Community. These students are a new legacy we can all be proud of, as they embody the Loretto ideal of service and education. Their week at the Motherhouse

Still, many people in the surrounding communities, especially younger individuals, knew nothing about the Loretto Community. Signing up the Motherhouse with a national volunteer registry on www.Idealist.com seemed a natural fit, since I myself began actively volunteering at the age 16 because of Idealist. Next, local high schools, both public and private, were contacted and made aware of the year-long need for volunteers at the Motherhouse. Many high schools either require that their students do service hours to graduate, or they have organizations that require the completion of service hours for continued

membership. For years, students have had to volunteer at the same few places for the upcoming spring rush, when the majority of students do their volunteer hours. They are now aware of the wide variety of exciting things to do at Loretto.

As I looked around, I asked myself, “What types of relationships can we foster at the Motherhouse that would be not only mutually beneficial to us, but also to the communities around us?”

The idea of interns was brought up from several different angles. The first was Sister Eleanor Craig’s need for someone to help organize and further enhance the information found in the Archives. The sheer amount of documents and oral accounts collected there is daunting, and the collections are only getting larger and more detailed.

The second angle was my firsthand experience with the History Department at the University of Louisville. I knew the treasure trove that the Archives presented would appeal to any graduate interested in Kentucky history, gender equality or religious history. In only a matter of months, we had two bright and industrious students doing their 250-hour internships with the Heritage Museum, and we are equally excited to see what interns the

Opposite: High school volunteers from St. Mary’s Academy, Nerinx Hall and Loretto Academy — all Loretto schools — play with children from the Loretto Community Service Program’s local summer camp at Loretto Motherhouse, Nerinx, Ky.

next school year brings us.

Similar talks of internships also recently have been discussed with University of Kentucky officials, as they begin to build a more comprehensive intern program.

Equally exciting is our service project between the Loretto Cedars of Peace retreat center at the Motherhouse and the Marion County Technical School. For some time, Loretto Co-member Susan Classen, Cedars Director, has planned on having a bridge built over the stream that cuts across the peaceful path at the Cedars.

Many retreatants love to walk there to collect their thoughts and to reconnect with nature. The lack of a safe passageway was becoming a problem.

From past experience at my own high school, I knew that technical departments often collaborated to do “real world” projects that would provide certificateseeking high school students with marketing experience, drafting experience, and construction knowledge they would need to gain rewarding and successful careers. As a result, during the spring 2015 semester, the Marion County Tech School is building a bridge for us. In return the students receive the certification they will need to graduate, and we gain a

Left: Volunteer sign-up table at a Motherhouse Community event.

Center low: Volunteer Lauren Kurtz doing a little spring planting. Right: Volunteer Anthony Greenwell helping out at Family Fun Day.

collaborative ally that we can connect with on future projects.

Throughout my five months here, I have had the pleasure of working with some truly amazing volunteers, people who are giving their time and effort to us to help preserve the legacy of the Sisters of Loretto. We also have worked with groups, such as the Lions Club of America, that continue to give time and monetary support to special events at the Motherhouse — events that enable us to interact with the people who populate the counties surrounding our campus.

I have enjoyed my time here immensely thus far, and I look forward to seeing the Community Service Program grow to foster strong, lasting community ties that will help keep the Motherhouse campus, and the members living here, vibrant and vital.

Fall-Winter 2015 • 15

One Diamond and two Goldens shine brightly among the 2015 Jubilarians

Carolyn Ann Wheat SL 2015 Diamond Jubilarian

This year a dozen Loretto Community members celebrate their Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees.

(See Loretto Magazine, Summer 2015, pp. 6-10)

Since the summer edition, we have received stories for three of those Jubilarians, and are proud to share them now.

By Janet Rabideau SL

A

lthough the Sisters of Loretto have a long history in Kankakee, Ill., my hometown, I didn’t meet any of them until I attended St. Patrick Central High School. I was impressed with how friendly they seemed with each other as they piled into their station wagon each day. I entered the new Denver novitiate right out of high school, so much of my growing has taken place in Loretto.

By Susan E. Charmley SL

L

Joy Jensen SL 2015 Golden Jubilarian

ike most Loretto educators of her generation, Sister Carolyn Ann Wheat spent her summers teaching religious education to children in the rural areas of Colorado and attending summer school sessions to earn her bachelor’s degree at Loretto Heights College, Denver, and her master’s degree at St. Louis University.

By Joy Jensen SL

M

y childhood home was sort of all over. My father was a career Marine, so I was brought up in Philadelphia, North Carolina and Georgia.

At St. John’s Grade School in Denver, Carolyn Ann spearheaded an ungraded program that enabled primary and upper-grade students to work at their individual ability levels. Her ministry in teaching continued for three decades in the archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M. In the early 1980s, she participated in peace pilgrimages to Los Alamos Labs in New Mexico.

After retiring from full-time teaching, Carolyn Ann was invited to tutor ninth grade math students at St. Pius V High School in Albuquerque, N.M. From 2010 to 2013, she helped the local Meals on Wheels program by delivering “hot lunches and smiles” to homebound residents in the south valley. During her 40 years in New Mexico, Carolyn Ann and her friends enjoyed many live performances of plays and musicals at the city’s Little Theater just south of Albuquerque’s historic Old Town district. Today she lives at the Motherhouse, Nerinx, Ky., and is often in the company of her lifelong friend Sue Charmley SL.

Background photo by Nicole Martinez

16 • Loretto Magazine

Janet Rabideau SL 2015 Golden Jubilarian

My first religious community was the Adorers of the Blood of Christ out of Pennsylvania. While I was a member of that community, I wrote a history of that province.

During my years with the Adorers, I earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate from St. Louis University. My first master’s was in American studies, and the second in religious studies.

My doctoral degree is in policy analysis and administration.

As an Adorer, I worked for 18 years as a teacher on the East Coast. I also taught at St. Louis University. Before transferring to the Sisters of Loretto, I had worked several years as a community organizer in public housing and community development in St. Louis, much of that time at St. Alphonse’s Rock Church working with the residents

of the area. I also worked with some housing development for low-income families. This was around 1991, and I was in the process of transferring into the Loretto Community. Before my transfer I was doing these projects, and they carried over.

Because of my work, I was asked by our Missouri senator to testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Housing — the national Congressional Senate. That was in 1992. I was in Loretto by that time.

I joined the Sisters of Loretto in St. Louis when I was 46, and I lived in that city for many years.

Right now I’m retired at the Motherhouse because of physical problems from my back and hip.

Loretto has gifted me with an education and opportunities for continued education and growth so that I could remain teaching for more than 30 years.

I taught in some former Loretto-staffed schools, including Immaculate Conception in Highland Park, Ill., Cathedral in Santa Fe, N.M., and St. Pius V in St. Louis, as well as other parochial Catholic schools. I really enjoyed teaching. Every year had its own challenges and opportunities to help meet the needs of children and their parents. I liked living in the area of the schools and became active in the parish functions.

In 2004 I moved to Loretto Motherhouse and began working in the Archives. It was new work for me, and I have learned much. I especially liked finding information for relatives and friends of Sisters and former students.

Working on the development of the new Loretto Heritage Center was exciting. To see the plans come to fruition was rewarding, and giving tours and answering questions about the exhibits became part of my work I learned to love.

Life at the Motherhouse is never dull. We always have lots of visitors to make welcome, meetings to attend and events to enjoy. In the summer I spend as much time as I can in the swimming pool.

I enjoy nature, working with plants, watching sunsets and playing cards.

I am grateful for all the issues and concerns I am made aware of through Loretto’s members and its publications. The information I receive is my link to others. I am also very grateful for the opportunity, at this time, to be participating in a program for personal growth.

Fall-Winter 2015 • 17

The Loretto Volunteer Program turns 25 this year

Get to know the 2015-2016 Loretto Volunteers ARIANA ALVAREZ is from Clayton, Calif., and graduated this year from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., with a degree in sociology and women’s and gender studies. Ariana works at Nerinx Hall High School, a Loretto school in St. Louis, as a campus minister. Fun fact: Ariana and Magaly Garcia (see below) are college buddies who traveled to Cambodia together on a service immersion trip.

By Molly Butler Program Coordinator Loretto Volunteers Photos courtesy of Molly Butler

A

joyous 25th anniversary celebration of the Loretto Volunteer Program concluded in typical Loretto fashion: with a song. While the tune was familiar from our annual sing-a-long tradition during volunteer orientation at the Motherhouse, the lyrics held a particular weight on this day: On this journey through thoughts and feelings Binding intuition, my head, my heart I am gathering the tools together. I’m preparing to do my part All of those who have come before me Band together and be my guide Loving lessons that I will follow, We’re all swimming to the other side.

embraced the opportunity to work for the summer at shelters and at the Catholic Worker in Santa Fe, Denver and La Jara, Colo. What began as a small summeronly experience in the Southwest has since evolved and expanded to the beloved, yearlong social-justice immersion that it is today.

At the July 2015 Loretto Assembly in St. Louis, Loretto Co-member Barbara Mecker and her family join the celebration to honor the Loretto Volunteer Program’s 25th anniversary. Mecker’s late husband Brian Hammond, who was also a Loretto co-member, was one of the Volunteer Program’s biggest cheerleaders, according to Program Coordinator Molly Butler, with microphone. Mecker stands on Butler’s right.

Swimming to the Other Side, Song by: Emma’s Revolution

This past July, Sisters, Co-members, Loretto Volunteers and friends of Loretto gathered during Loretto Assembly in St. Louis to honor this special milestone in Loretto mission work. The vibrant Loretto Volunteer Program — as we know it — grew out of the Loretto Community’s desire to engage young adults in their mission to “work for justice and act for peace.” This dream became a reality in 1989 when the Community approved such a proposal at its Assembly, and an inspired P.J. Manion SL created Loretto Southwest Volunteers.

The first year, four young women

18 • Loretto Magazine

From left: Katie Jones and Molly Butler, the former and current Loretto Volunteer Program Coordinators.

Over the years, volunteers have lived in Santa Fe, N.M., Taos, N.M., Denver, St. Louis, Kentucky, Washington, D.C., El Paso, Texas, and New York. They have worked on a many projects, including educating youth and older adults completing GEDs; serving in clinics for those with inadequate health-care coverage; assisting with immigration and environmental advocacy; advocating for women and children nationally and internationally; working with LGBTpositive Catholic ministries; assisting on the Interfaith Voices radio program; finding housing for individuals living with HIV and AIDS; and the list goes on. More than 130 volunteers, dozens of placement sites, countless intergenerational friendships and peace marches later, we have much to celebrate at this 25-year milestone.

Our fabulous alumnae have gone on to do great things in the world, as teachers, social workers, lawyers, academics, journalists, policy makers, media experts, theologians — many inspired by the spirit of Loretto and connections made during their service. Emily Cohen, 2010-

TERESA BLUMENSTEIN is originally from Cherry Hill, N.J., and graduated from the University of Notre Dame, Ind., in 2013. This is Teresa’s second year with Loretto Volunteers, having served in St. Louis from 2013 to 2014. Teresa brings a variety of community living and work experiences, and we are thrilled to have her back and joining the work of Loretto at the United Nations.

Top row, L-R: Welter, Alvarez, Hardt.

Middle row, L-R: Blumenstein, Laut, Nyamweya. Front row, L-R: Garcia, Combs, Zionts.

2011 volunteer in the Washington, D.C., community, says: “The professional and personal enrichment I received from my workplaces — and belonging to the larger Loretto Community — continues to ground me in a sense of self and purpose. I have gone on to professional and academic work that is grounded in the feminist and dedicated spirit of Loretto. As I look around at the most meaningful parts of my life, I see that many of them are rooted in Loretto — slight bouquets that hint at the wildness and the wealth that are my fellow volunteer alums, friends and mentors.

There’s just something special about Loretto that you can’t find anywhere else. And something this special deserves to be celebrated, cherished and shared.”

In the spirit of sharing that which we “celebrate and cherish,” we are excited to look toward future growth of the Loretto Volunteer Program. The past 25 years have illuminated the desire that young folks have for learning from lifelong justice-seekers in Loretto; just as Loretto continued on p. 20

MAYA COMBS is from Menlo Park, Calif., and graduated this year from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where she majored in sociology and political science. Maya is passionate about health-care and works at the Community of Hope Family Health and Birth Center in the D.C. area, as a patient advocate for women and families.

MAGALY GARCIA is from Santa Nella, Calif., and graduated this year from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., with a degree in psychology. Magaly was inspired to apply for the Loretto Volunteer Program through an internship she did in Denver with Anna Koop at the Catholic Worker and at the Loretto Central Office. She works at CARECEN (Central American Resource Center) as an immigration paralegal, where she is using her Spanish skills to help individuals and families navigate the immigration system.

ELIZABETH HARDT is from Louisville, Ky., and graduated this year from Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., where she majored in international affairs and religion. She works at the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Md. Fun fact: Her connection to the Loretto Community comes from her dad who has worked closely with the Sisters of Loretto in Kentucky on environmental activism.

EMMA LAUT is from Indianapolis and graduated from Marian University there earlier this year. She studied biology, sociology, pastoral leadership and psychology. In college Emma was involved with a variety of sustainability initiatives and is putting her love for gardening to good use at the St. Louis Lockwood House. She engages her passion for health-care at Family Care Health Centers in St. Louis.

NIA NYAMWEYA is from Silver Spring, Md., and graduated this year from Towson University in Baltimore with a degree in women’s and gender studies as well as French. During her years at Towson, Nia was involved in a variety of initiatives aimed at breaking down barriers for women and people of color and is excited to work at Doorways, an organization that offers housing and social services for people in St. Louis living with HIV/AIDS. MARY WELTER is from Novato, Calif., and graduated this year from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., with a degree in biology and French. She puts her interest in health-care to good use at Marie Reed Health Clinic, a beloved communitybased health center in D.C. ARIELLE ZIONTS is from the suburbs of Chicago. She graduated in 2014 from Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., where she majored in sociocultural anthropology and most recently attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. She has experience in radio, which she uses at Interfaith Voices, the radio show run by Maureen Fiedler SL’s weekly NPR radio broadcast.

Fall-Winter 2015 • 19

loretto community members to remember

members gain unique perspective and inspiration from the young adults with whom they spend time. Volunteers who commit to a year of service with Loretto are embarking on a lifestyle that models that of the Community. Each day volunteers go out into their city to do meaningful work and come back each night to process with one another.

This intentional way of life, guided by the values of community, simplicity, spirituality and social justice, is new to many young adults and only enhanced by the lived experience of the Community.

Loretto meets volunteers where they are with an open mind and heart.

Above: Artist Roberta Hudlow SL created this fascinating display for the 2015 Assemby to highlight the history and current work of the Loretto Volunteers.

At left: Former 1995 Loretto Volunteer Gretchen Geis Mclaughlin, left, with former Volunteer Coordinator Therese Stawowy CoL. They are pictured in the 1995 Loretto Volunteers group photo below. Can you find them?

It felt particularly meaningful to honor the Volunteer Program’s 25th anniversary at the Loretto Assembly in St. Louis this summer — a gathering convened around the larger question of “Making the Future Possible.” It was heartening to hear Community members include volunteers in that long-range vision to continue extending the boundaries of love and justice. Mary E. Hunt, director of WATER, in Silver Spring, Md., one of our volunteer placements sites for five years, writes: “I think that [the Volunteer Program] is not only the future for the Loretto Community, but the future for all of us; in terms of doing the kind of work that in former times was done either by religious communities or denominations, it’s now done by a much larger community of people.”

If the last quarter century is any indicator of what the next holds, then Loretto’s community of justice-seekers can only get bigger and reach further.

From each and every Loretto Volunteer Coordinator (official and unofficial), to Community members, our alumnae network, placement sites and friends of Loretto — thank you for your support.

To every individual who offered wisdom, blessings, valentines, ice cream, laughter and love — we are grateful for your company on this journey of justice and peace.

20 • Loretto Magazine

Special thanks are given to Loretto Archivist Eleanor Craig SL and her Archives Team — Donna Mattingly SL, Janet Rabideau SL and Marcia Mohin — from whose research and writing these remembrances have been adapted.

Readers are encouraged to view complete remembrances at the Loretto website,

www.lorettocommunity.org.

Sandra Ardoyno SL (formerly Sister Mary Susan) Aug. 27, 1943 — Oct. 5, 2015

Sandra followed her twin sister Susie into the world, making her the third of the four children of Sidney and Sally Leech Ardoyno. With their brother Jack and sister Sheila, the twins grew up in Mobile, Ala. Sandy attended Bishop Toolen High School in Mobile where she met the Sisters of Loretto, “. . . and that has made all the difference,” she wrote. Sandy entered Loretto in 1961, taking the religious name Sister Mary Susan in honor of her twin. She made first vows two years later and moved to the House of Studies in St. Louis to complete her education at Webster College. Her talent and deep interest in art shaped her 45-year career at Bishop Toolen High School as an art teacher, chairperson of the art department and assistant coach of the girls’ volleyball team. She had helped initiate Las Casa de Amigos Head Start Day Care Center in 1970 and was its director by 1974. She also served as president of the Sisters’ Senate of the Mobile Diocese and served on both the Diocesan Pastoral Council and the parish council for St. Francis Xavier Parish. Sandy had many assignments for Loretto and was elected to the Loretto Executive Committee in 2000 and again in 2003. She designed many published books, logos, calendars and special projects for the Community over more than three decades. In 2012 she celebrated her Golden Jubilee with her students, friends and family in Mobile, then retired to the Motherhouse.

McGill-Toolen High School had not forgotten Sandy. In September she went happily back to Mobile to be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. Sandy was 72 years old at the time of her death and in her 53rd year as a Sister of Loretto.

Mary Judith Brown SL

Oct. 30, 1922 — Aug. 4, 2015

Frances Marie Brown, the eldest of four, was born Oct. 30, 1922, in Elwood, Ind. The family moved to Pueblo, Colo., in time for Frances to begin elementary school. There the family endured the extreme poverty of the Depression years in the dust bowl. Frances later wrote, “The day I realized I could read was like turning on a light bulb. ... In high school I worked my way through Loretto Academy in Santa Fe. I was a minority there, one of three Anglos. She graduated and won a journalism scholarship to Loretto Heights College in Denver. After two years at the Heights, Frances asked to enter Loretto, and was received into the novitiate in 1944, taking the name Sister Mary Judith, by which she would be known the rest of her life. In 1949 she made final vows and soon began a 40-year teaching career at schools in St. Louis, Bisbee, Ariz., Colorado Springs, Colo., Highwood and Rock Falls, Ill., and Denver. When she was 62 years old, Mary Judith changed her work and her place of residence. With Genevieve Cavanaugh SL, she signed a contract with the Denver Archdiocesan Housing Committee to co-administer St. Anthony Manor in Casper, Wyo., a HUD-subsidized apartment for low-income senior citizens. From 1984 to 2001 Judith and Genevieve worked at St. Anthony’s. Judith retired to the Loretto Motherhouse Infirmary in 2010. Mary Judith was 92 years old at the time of her death and in her 72nd year as a Sister of Loretto.

Margaret Rose Knoll SL (formerly Sister Ann Mark) Aug. 27, 1914 — Oct. 6, 2015

Margaret Rose was born to Francis Theodore and Mary Salewski Knoll in Minonk, Ill. She was 10th in a family of a dozen children. Her father worked in the coal mines, but by the time Margaret Rose was 2 years old, he had moved his family to farm life, first in West Brooklyn, Ill., and then to Harmon, Ill., on more than 80 acres in the Sand Hills. Margaret Rose attended public school until the family moved to another farm closer to Sterling, Ill., where she began as a sophomore at Catholic Community High School. “That is when I saw the influence that the Sisters of Loretto had on the students. They really impressed me greatly,” she recalled. Before and after high school graduation in 1932, she considered joining the Carmelites, but felt impressed that the Loretto Community was where she belonged. Margaret Rose entered Loretto in October 1933 and was received in April 1934, taking the religious name Sister Ann Mark, by which she was known until she went to Highland Park, Ill., in 1966. Although she tried twice to become a nurse, her true calling was education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Loretto Heights College in 1950 and a master’s degree in elementary school counseling in 1970 at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. She taught elementary grades for 30 years in 11 elementary schools in nine cities and six states. In 1973 Margaret Rose returned to her home state to St. Peter’s Cathedral School in Rockford to serve for 18 years as a classroom teacher and later librarian and tutor. In 1990 she and her fellow teacher and dear friend, Sister Vera Marie Day, moved to Loretto Motherhouse, Nerinx, Ky. Margaret Rose was 101 years old at the time of her death and in her 81st year as a Sister of Loretto.

Fall-Winter 2015 • 21

gifts

gifts

Memorials and Tributes of Honor June — August 2015

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

Mr. & Mrs. Don Aldrich

Valerie & Albert Antoine Sally Godfrey Arpe

The Loretto Community Johanna Borsellega

Mary Sandoval Rome Virginia Bailey Barlow

Barbara K. Skalinder Lauretta Bedard

Patricia & Robert Triggs Martha Belke SL

Montgomery Catholic

Preparatory School Mary Judith Brown SL Dominic Sherony

Thomas Thornton Mary Pat Coughlin

Mary Louise &

John Cusack Aline Dalton SL

Knights of Columbus,

Ladies Auxiliary 10122 Carol Dunphy SL

Mary Alice Bramming Bill Engle

Susan & John Stevenson Marcella Fisher

Valerie & Albert Antoine Ruth Naomi Fox

Ruthann Fox-Hines This specimen ginkgo tree, an ancient species, thrives at Loretto Motherhouse. Its secret?

In autumn, the tree releases its leaves all in one day. Once the leaves drop, they don’t stop until every last leaf has fallen. If you’re visiting the Motherhouse on that day and happen to witness The Great Fall, you are lucky, indeed. Another ginkgo secret: Avoid stepping on the fallen fruits. They smell terrible!

22 • Loretto Magazine

Eileen Marie Heckman SL

Susan & John Reuter Carla Jackson

Mary Sandoval Rome Bernice Juen SL

Miriam Chen Janet Houlihan Kain

Joseph Houlihan Margaret Lally

Martin Lally Abby Marie Lanners

Patricia & Larry Lanners Betty & Jack Leonard Anonymous All the Sisters of Loretto who taught me

Patricia Buhr

Sisters of Loretto who taught me in the 1950s

Lois Ann & Richard

Minto Mary Louise Lynch SL

Kam & Mike Martin Albina Martowlos SL

Barbra Hale Bill Minelli

Sally Minelli Raul Navarro, the brother-in-law of Karen Navarro*

The Loretto Community Pat O’Toole

Patrick Alpers Mary Agnes Ortner

Dorothy Ortner*

Domitilla Osborne SL

Rev. Robert Osborne Pat Patterson

Camy Condon Marie Joann Rekart SL

Rose Marie Hayden

Mary-Alice Kissel

Kathleen & Vito Lentini

Ellen & Robert Nix

Marlene Pakish

Julia Rekart

Marilyn Rekart Bernice Rosalie

Steven Salter Mr. & Mrs. Paul Schmidt

Regina Schmidt Patricia Clancy Schuerger

Thomas Schuerger Clara Shaw

Valerie & Albert Antoine Donald Solar

Helen Walsh Ann Elizabeth Stephens

Helen C. Teter Eugenia Thompson SL

Miriam Chen Emmanuel Tonne SL

Janice Murphy Rita Triggs

Patricia & Robert Triggs

In Honor of: Requested by:

Photo by Nicole Martinez

My wife Marianne and our three daughters

Patrick Alpers Joan Boyle

Camy Condon Mary Peter Bruce SL

Camy Condon Maria Daniel SL, final vows

Jane German*

Barbara Nicholas SL

Jeanne Orrben*

Carol Ann Ptacek SL Chance & Austin Daniels

Sally Minelli Mary Louise Denny SL, Golden Jubilee

Jane Hassett CSJ Antoinette Doyle SL

Barbara & Robert Havira Trish Dunn*

Mary Kay Brannan SL

Maureen Flanigan*

Jeanne Orrben*

Mary Seematter* Benedicta Feeney SL

Mary Jane Clabots Sue Gomez

Mary Sue Anderson Jeannine Gramick SL

Joanna O’Neill

Donna Hamburg*

Jeanne Orrben*

Ruth Routten* Samina Iqbal SL, final vows

Jane German*

Barbara Nicholas SL

Jeanne Orrben*

Carol Ann Ptacek SL Sharon Kassing SL

Barbara & Robert Havira †Margaret Rose Knoll SL, 101st Birthday

Donna & Carol Johnson Sisters of Loretto who taught the Class of 1965 at Loretto Academy, Kansas City, Mo.

Carol & Ivan Katzer George McShea*

Martha Crawley*

Maureen Flanigan* &

Brad Buckner

Patricia McShea*

Jeanne Orrben*

Jo Ann* & Larry* Purcell

Ruth Routten* Alicia Ramirez SL

Mary & Philip Sheridan The Jack Newton Family

Helen C. Teter

Lydia Peña SL

Lois Buckley Antonelli

Mary & George Sissel Lydia Peña SL, 60 years as a Sister of Loretto

Bernice* & Melvin Strawn Bryon Plumley*

Martha Crawley*

Maureen Flanigan* &

Brad Buckner

Jeanne Orrben*

Jo Ann* & Larry Purcell*

Ruth Routten* Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL

Shelley Hitt

Ann Meier

Helen Walsh* Alicia Ramirez SL

Mary & Philip Sheridan Barbara Roche SL, Golden Jubilee

Jane Hassett CSJ

In Honor of the 2015 Golden Jubilarians; Reception Class, May 1965 Photo by Donna Mattingly SL

In Memory of: Requested by:

Above: A hard blue Colorado sky glints through the leaves of a sugar maple displaying the full spectrum of autumn golds, greens and reds. The sky over the Centennial state gives a particular deep blue impression, because of the land’s altitude and lack of water vapor in the atmosphere.

Mary Louise Denny SL Regina Drey SL Joy Jensen SL Mary McAuliffe SL Cathy Mueller SL Mary Margaret Murphy SL Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL Janet Rabideau SL Barbara Roche SL

Given by:

Mary Kay Brannan SL

Theresa L. Coyle SL

Maureen Flanigan*

Jeanne Orrben*

Mary Seematter*

Fall-Winter 2015 • 23

Loretto Magazine

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

Address Service Requested

In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him Nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away When He comes to reign: In the bleak midwinter A stable-place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

What can I give Him, Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise man I would do my part; Yet what I can, I give Him, Give my heart. — Christina Rossetti, ca. 1870

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