The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose members are commonly known as Sisters of Loreto (named so after the shrine at Loreto, Marche in Italy where Mary Ward used to pray) is a religious congregation of women, dedicated to apostolic work in the Church. It was founded in 1609 by Mary Ward. In North America, the original spelling of "Loretto" is used. Mary Ward was declared "Venerable" (the first of three steps towards being declared a saint) by the authority of Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2009.
After being suppressed for a short period in 1639, the Institute was slowly revived, receiving complete canonical approval in 1877. Today it is engaged in a wide variety of ministries: Catholic schools, literacy programmes, spiritual direction, counselling, managing shelters for homeless women as well as several aspects of the movement for greater justice and peace in the world. They are active in every continent. Today, the Loreto Sisters have set up 150 schools worldwide, educating over 70,000 pupils.
Read more about Sisters Of Loreto: Foundation, Development, Today
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“The quickness with which all the “stuff” from childhood can reduce adult siblings to kids again underscores the strong and complex connections between brothers and sisters.... It doesn’t seem to matter how much time has elapsed or how far we’ve traveled. Our brothers and sisters bring us face to face with our former selves and remind us how intricately bound up we are in each other’s lives.”
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