Loretto Academy (El Paso, Texas)

Contents

Loretto Academy is a private Roman Catholic school in El Paso, Texas. It was opened in 1923 and was founded by Mother M. Praxedes Carty. is a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso. Grades Pre-K3-5 are coeducational, while grades 6-12 are all girls.[1]

Background

The Sisters of Loretto had previously established several schools in Las Cruces and El Paso.[2][3] In the early 1920s, Mother M. Praxedes Carty of the Sisters of Loretto came to El Paso to establish a new school.[4] On March 20, 1922, she purchased 19 acres of land in the Austin Terrace area, which was considered a bad place to put the school.[5][6] The area was open desert on a hilltop and was accessible by streetcar.[7] For the time period, it was considered to be a long distance from the downtown area.[5] Because of the location, people were unsure if parents would send their children to the school.[7] People began to call the project "Praxedes' Folly."[7]

The building was designed by Trost & Trost.[8] Gustavus A. Trost was friends with Mother Praxedes and may have done most of the primary architectural drawings.[9] The buildings were "designed to face Mexico" in a welcoming gesture for all people to join the community.[3] They were built using stuccoed brick and red Spanish tile on the roof.[8] The first building was started in the fall of 1922.[10] The cornerstone for the chapel was laid down on March 20, 1924.[6] The entire campus was not complete until the 1930s.[8] However, the first school building was ready in 1923. Loretto Academy in El Paso opened on September 11, 1923 with 186 students, of which 20 lived at the school as boarders.[6] In 1928, the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools admitted Loretto as a member.[11]

The boarding school closed in 1975.[12] Students from Ciudad Juarez also attend the school.[3] As of the early 1990s the school had over 900 students.[13]

After 22 years, in 2022, Sister Mary E. "Buffy" Boesen stepped down as president of Loretto.[14] Loretto alumna, Nicole Ortega Cobb, became the next president of the school in June 2022.[14]

Notable attendees

Notable faculty

Notes and references

Sources

  • Loretto Academy (2010). Loretto Academy Alumnae Directory 2010. El Paso, Texas: Harris Connect.

References

  1. 1."Admissions Archived 2011-01-16 at the Wayback Machine." Loretto Academy. Retrieved on May 24, 2011.
  2. 2."History of the Loretto Academy: Mother Praxedes Arrives". NMSU Library. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  3. 3.[3.2][3.3]Perez, Daniel (December 13, 1989). "66 Years Later, Nuns' 'Folly' Is an El Paso Landmark". El Paso Times. p. 22. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 4.Manweller, Christina (Spring 2019). "Deus providebit: Loretto's Legacy in Texas". Loretto Magazine: 9–11 – via issuu.
  5. 5.[5.2]Metz, Leon (January 19, 2004). "Lorettos's History a Story of Mother Praxedes". El Paso Times. p. 15. Retrieved September 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 6.[6.2][6.3]Graham, Marjorie (April 22, 1956). "$450,000 Loretto Diamond Jubilee Construction Program Scheduled". El Paso Times. p. 17. Retrieved September 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 7.[7.2][7.3]Phelon, Craig (August 5, 1978). "Loretto Academy Outlasts Rest". El Paso Times. p. 27. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 8.[8.2][8.3]"Loretto Academy El Paso". Henry C. Trost Historical Organization. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  9. 9.Englebrecht, Lloyd C.; Engelbrecht, June F. (1990). "Loretto Academy". Trost Society. National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  10. 10."Work is Begun on College at El Paso". The Oklahoma City Times. September 13, 1922. p. 2. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 11."Admit Loretto College". El Paso Evening Post. December 12, 1928. p. 14. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. 12.Saenz, Bernadette; Valdez, Victoria (2000). "Sisters of Loretto Have Long Tradition in Southwest". Borderland. Vol. 19.
  13. 13.McKee, Okla A. "Loretto Academy". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  14. 14.[14.2]Fischer, Fallon (April 14, 2022). "Loretto Academy selects new president". KFOX. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  15. 15.Loretto Academy 2010, p. 88.
  16. 16.Loretto Academy 2010, p. 30.
  17. 17.Loretto Academy 2010, p. 38.
  18. 18.Loretto Academy 2010, p. 39.
  19. 19."About". Alicia Gaspar de Alba. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  20. 20.[20.2]Moreno, Iliana (February 7, 2020). "Decade's accomplishments from Loretto's alumni". The Prax. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  21. 21.Loretto Academy 2010, p. 54.
  22. 22."GLOBAL EDITORIAL LEADERS". Condé Nast. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  23. 23."Virginia's Former First Lady Maureen McDonnell Sentenced To 1 Year In Prison". NPR. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  24. 24."Stevie Nicks: 'El Paso ... is the place where I learned how to sing'". El Paso Times. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  25. 25.Flynn, Ken (March 18, 2003). "Worthy Women". El Paso Times. p. 13. Retrieved June 15, 2026. and "Women". El Paso Times. March 18, 2003. p. 14. Retrieved June 15, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. 26.Loretto Academy 2010, p. 100.
  27. 27.Solorzano, Rosalia. "Valdes Villalva, María Guillermina (1939–1991)". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  28. 28."Loretto Librarian to Attend Meeting". El Paso Herald-Post. April 4, 1955. p. 13. Retrieved June 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. 29.Vitello, Paul (January 24, 2012). "Jacqueline G. Wexler, Ex-Nun Who Took On Church, Dies at 85". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 18, 2020.