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Editorial Note:
this
article was linked to by the Q&A:
Did
Mother Teresa lose her faith?
published
on September 16, 2007
Sisters
of Loreto
The
Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary
are more commonly
known as the Loreto Sisters.
The Loreto Sisters belong to one branch
of The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), the religious order
founded by an Englishwoman from a recusant background, Mary Ward, in 1609.
Ward had a vision for a different mode of religious life for women. She
envisioned women living a life in companionship and discernment, inspired
by the gospel and engaging with the world without the constraints of the
traditional cloister, nor an established 'Rule', placing them under the
governance of men. She also believed that women were equal to men in intellect
and should be educated accordingly.
Loreto
Provinces around the world
* Australia
* United Kingdom
* India
* Ireland
* USA
* Spain
Today, the order she inspired is worldwide
and has been divided, historically, 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 by an overwhelming majority to unite with the Irish Branch. From
this, confirmed by Papal Decree, a 'new' entity has been forged, now referred
as The Loreto Branch. In 2004 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 The 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 (see Loreto Abbey).
Schools all over the world work in association
with the sisters, such as the Loreto Schools in Australia. The Loreto Sisters,
along with Mary Ward, helped establish Loreto schools around the world.
At the invitation of Bishop Michael Power
of Toronto, the Loreto Sisters arrived in the city in 1847 and founded
their first school. By the 1920s their motherhouse was at Loreto Abbey
(Armour Heights) and still houses a girls' secondary school. The Sisters
also founded Loreto College School on Brunswick Avenue in 1915 and started
a college and residence for women at St. Michael's College in the University
of Toronto. The sisters also had many other schools across Canada, both
at the elementary and secondary levels.
The Loreto Sisters arrived in Australia
in 1878 in response to a request by the Bishop of Ballarat, Bishop O'Connell.
The group from Ireland, led by Mother Gonzaga Barry, set up a convent in
Ballarat, Victoria and their first school, Loreto College, Ballarat, was
originally known as "Mary's Mount".
In 1892 a day school was established in
Randwick, New South Wales and in 1897 Loreto Normanhurst, also in New South
Wales, began as a boarding school. The Randwick day school move to Milson's
Point in 1901 to begin what is now known as Loreto Kirribilli. The IBVM
in Australia have schools in Brisbane (Loreto College, Coorparoo), Adelaide
(Loreto College, Marryatville), Melbourne (Loreto Mandeville Hall) and
Perth (Loreto Nedlands Primary School).
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