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Loretto Academy (El Paso, Texas)

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Loretto Academy
File:Loretto Academy school building 2020 El Paso Texas.jpg
Location
1300 Hardaway Street
El Paso
,
(El Paso County)
,
Texas
79903
United States
31°47′10″N 106°26′5″W / 31.78611°N 106.43472°W
Information
Type Private, All-Girls for grades 6-12
Motto A Tradition Of Excellence/ Let Loretto Be Loretto Forever
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Established 1923
Founder Mother M. Praxedes Carty
President Nicole Ortega Cobb
Principal High School: Homero Silva
Middle School: Mary Ann Olivas
Grades Pre-K–12
(Boys PreK-5, girls all grades)
Colors Yellow, Black and White
Slogan Four Core Values: Faith, Community, Justice & Respect
Mascot Angels
Accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Newspaper The Prax
Affiliation Sisters of Loretto
Elementary Principal Norma Lopez
Athletic Director Angela Glover
Architects Trost & Trost
Website http://www.loretto.org

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.[2]

Background

The Sisters of Loretto had previously established several schools in Las Cruces and El Paso.[3][4] In the early 1920s, Mother M. Praxedes Carty of the Sisters of Loretto came to El Paso to establish a new school.[5] 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.[6][7] The area was open desert on a hilltop and was accessible by streetcar.[8] For the time period, it was considered to be a long distance from the downtown area.[6] Because of the location, people were unsure if parents would send their children to the school.[8] People began to call the project "Praxedes' Folly."[8]

The building was designed by Trost & Trost.[9] Gustavus A. Trost was friends with Mother Praxedes and may have done most of the primary architectural drawings.[10] The buildings were "designed to face Mexico" in a welcoming gesture for all people to join the community.[4] They were built using stuccoed brick and red Spanish tile on the roof.[9] The first building was started in the fall of 1922.[11] The cornerstone for the chapel was laid down on March 20, 1924.[7] The entire campus was not complete until the 1930s.[9] 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.[7] In 1928, the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools admitted Loretto as a member.[12]

The boarding school closed in 1975.[13] Students from Ciudad Juarez also attend the school.[4] As of the early 1990s the school had over 900 students.[14]

After 22 years, in 2022, Sister Mary E. "Buffy" Boesen stepped down as president of Loretto.[15] Loretto alumna, Nicole Ortega Cobb, became the next president of the school in June 2022.[15]

Notable attendees

Notable faculty

Notes and references

Sources

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

References

  1. Back to citation SACS-CASI. "SACS-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  2. Back to citation "Admissions Archived 2011-01-16 at the Wayback Machine." Loretto Academy. Retrieved on May 24, 2011.
  3. Back to citation "History of the Loretto Academy: Mother Praxedes Arrives". NMSU Library. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Back to citation occurrence 4.2 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.
  5. Back to citation Manweller, Christina (Spring 2019). "Deus providebit: Loretto's Legacy in Texas". Loretto Magazine: 9–11 – via issuu.
  6. Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 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.
  7. Back to citation occurrence 7.0 Back to citation occurrence 7.1 Back to citation occurrence 7.2 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.
  8. Back to citation occurrence 8.0 Back to citation occurrence 8.1 Back to citation occurrence 8.2 Phelon, Craig (August 5, 1978). "Loretto Academy Outlasts Rest". El Paso Times. p. 27. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Back to citation occurrence 9.0 Back to citation occurrence 9.1 Back to citation occurrence 9.2 "Loretto Academy El Paso". Henry C. Trost Historical Organization. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  10. Back to citation Englebrecht, Lloyd C; Engelbrecht, June F. (1990). "Loretto Academy". Trost Society. National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  11. Back to citation "Work is Begun on College at El Paso". The Oklahoma City Times. September 13, 1922. p. 2. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Back to citation "Admit Loretto College". El Paso Evening Post. December 12, 1928. p. 14. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Back to citation Saenz, Bernadette; Valdez, Victoria (2000). "Sisters of Loretto Have Long Tradition in Southwest". Borderland. Vol. 19.
  14. Back to citation McKee, Okla A. "Loretto Academy". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  15. Back to citation occurrence 15.0 Back to citation occurrence 15.1 Fischer, Fallon (April 14, 2022). "Loretto Academy selects new president". KFOX. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  16. Back to citation Loretto Academy 2010, p. 88.
  17. Back to citation Loretto Academy 2010, p. 30.
  18. Back to citation Loretto Academy 2010, p. 38.
  19. Back to citation Loretto Academy 2010, p. 39.
  20. Back to citation "About". Alicia Gaspar de Alba. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  21. Back to citation occurrence 21.0 Back to citation occurrence 21.1 Moreno, Iliana (February 7, 2020). "Decade's accomplishments from Loretto's alumni". The Prax. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  22. Back to citation Loretto Academy 2010, p. 54.
  23. Back to citation "GLOBAL EDITORIAL LEADERS". Condé Nast. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  24. Back to citation "Virginia's Former First Lady Maureen McDonnell Sentenced To 1 Year In Prison". NPR. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  25. Back to citation "Stevie Nicks: 'El Paso... is the place where I learned how to sing'". El Paso Times. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  26. Back to citation 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.
  27. Back to citation Loretto Academy 2010, p. 100.
  28. Back to citation Solorzano, Rosalia. "Valdes Villalva, María Guillermina (1939–1991)". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  29. Back to citation "Loretto Librarian to Attend Meeting". El Paso Herald-Post. April 4, 1955. p. 13. Retrieved June 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. Back to citation 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.
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