Sisters of Loreto - Today

Today

Today, Sisters of the institute are found worldwide. It has historically been divided into three main groups known as the Roman Branch, the Irish Branch and the North American Branch. This situation changed in September 2003, when the sisters of the North American Branch voted to unite with the Irish Branch. From this, confirmed by Papal Decree, a new entity has been forged, now referred as The Loreto Branch. The Roman Branch received permission from the Vatican to change its name, to reflect more closely Mary Ward's vision of a Jesuit order for women. The Roman Branch is now Congregatio Jesu or Congregation of Jesus.

In Ireland, the Sisters run a number of day-schools for girls', and until recently ran a girls' boarding school at Rathfarnham, Dublin.

The Sisters established a number of schools in England and Northern Ireland. They include Loreto Colleges in St Albans and Manchester, Loreto Grammar School in Altrincham, Greater Manchester and St Mary's Schools in Ascot, Cambridge and Shaftesbury. The schools in Northern Ireland are Loreto College, Coleraine and Loreto Grammar School, Omagh. Most were founded as girls' schools and a number have gone coeducational.

The South African province has apostolates in Pretoria, Witbank and Cape Town all of which focus on marginalised women; the sisters also have a mission in Zambia which was established in 2006.

Like the Sisters in other provinces, those of the Spanish province, though small in number, work primarily with disadvantaged women and children.

The Sisters of the Australian province work in Aboriginal welfare, rural communities and care for the aged as well as having outreach in Vietnam and East Timor. There are seven Loreto Colleges spread across 5 states, the oldest being the school in Ballarat, Victoria.

In North America, the Sisters have communities in California, Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and throughout Canada. Although the North American Sisters are involved in many aspects of education, they are also involved in many community outreach programs. This includes Mercy Home for Boys and Girls (Chicago), Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital (Wheaton), Pillars Community Services (Hickory Hills), the Loreto Center (Wheaton) and Wells Spring Women's Center (Sacramento).

In South America the Congregation of Jesus has three private schools in Brazil (Instituto de Educação Beatíssima Virgem Maria - IEBVM, Colégio Santa Maria and Colégio Mary Ward) and three schools in Chile. The Brazilian nuns often go on missionary travels to Piauí, one of the poorest states in Brazil.