Loretto Academy (El Paso, Texas)

Last updated

Loretto Academy
Loretto Academy school building 2020 El Paso Texas.jpg
Location
Loretto Academy (El Paso, Texas)
1300 Hardaway Street

El Paso
,
(El Paso County)
,
Texas
79903

United States
Coordinates 31°47′10″N106°26′5″W / 31.78611°N 106.43472°W / 31.78611; -106.43472
Information
Type Private, All-Girls for grades 6-12
MottoA Tradition Of Excellence/ Let Loretto Be Loretto Forever
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established1923
Founder Mother M. Praxedes Carty
PresidentNicole Ortega Cobb
PrincipalHigh School: Homero Silva
Middle School: Mary Ann Olivas
Grades Pre-K–12
(Boys PreK-5, girls all grades)
Color(s) Yellow, Black and White    
SloganFour Core Values: Faith, Community, Justice & Respect
Mascot Angels
Accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [1]
NewspaperThe Prax
Affiliation Sisters of Loretto
Elementary PrincipalNorma Lopez
Athletic DirectorAngela 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]

Contents

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

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

Sources

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