Loretto Academy, as the name might reveal, was founded by the sisters of Loretto. What the name doesn't reveal is the sisters' background.
The story of the sisters of Loretto starts with a woman named Mary Rhodes. In 1811, Mary came from Maryland and went to Kentucky to visit some relatives. While there, she decided to begin teaching catechism. She slowly became well known and began to help teach local children. As time passed, she welcomed the help of Christina Stuart and Ann Havern. Together they helped create a mini school that was based on shrine from Italy. This is where the large journey of the sisters began.
In later years, a bishop form Santa Fe asked the sisters if they could help him teach children. Specifically, he wanted them to help with the Spanish-speaking students. The sisters agreed to help and sent out six sisters. During the long trip over to Santa Fe, two of the sisters died; one sister died from cholera, the other from terror and exhaustion.
The sisters opened their first school in 1857. They later opened a Loretto Academy in Las Cruces which closed in 1944. After they had finished their major work in New Mexico they moved on to new projects in Texas. They opened their first Texas school in San Elizario which was named St. Josephs. Originally, the first classes were ungraded so that they could make the children become more interested in learning. They kept the school running for a good while until it closed in 1892.
The sisters then moved here, to El Paso Texas. Here, they built Loretto Academy which opened on September 11, 1923. If you notice, it opened on a familiar date to most Americans. It opened on the day of 9/11 which makes it easy to remember Loretto's birthday.
When Loretto opened, it was not completely finished and was undergoing construction. It actually took fourteen years to finish the final building. In fact, Mother Praxedes gave commands for the building from her death bed. Even though the construction was finished. Loretto was in debt because of the loans that they had needed to finish building. If you notice the time period that we are in, this is during the time of the Great Depression. Even Loretto was impacted by it! They were eventually able to pay off their debt. (even after they had TWO mortgages on Loretto!) They had some help from the Hilton family. The family graciously donated money which is why their gym is called the Hilton Gym.The sisters helped spread education through more than just Loretto Academy. The sisters also helped open other schools in El Paso like St. Josephs. They also taught in places like Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Kentucky, San Elizario, Las Vegas and more. It's amazing what women can do!
