Loretto in Missouri
Pioneer efforts
In 1823 the Sisters of Loretto made their first foundation outside of Kentucky. It was located at the Barrens in Perry County, MO. Father Charles Nerinckx was working in this area when he fell ill and died in Ste. Genevieve, MO.
Loretto Academy in Florissant, MO
In 1847 the Sisters of Loretto arrived in Florissant, MO to resurrect a school for Indian girls that St. Rose Philippine Duchesne and her Religious of the Sacred Heart had been forced to abandon in 1846. The school came to be known as Loretto Academy. When it was destroyed by fire in 1919, it was home to seventy-five sisters and fifty girls, ages five to fifteen.
Loretto in St. Louis
The Sisters first began their educational journey through St. Louis history in 1862 when they resolved to open a day school called St. Mary's Academy on 10th and Morgan Streets. The effort did not prevail and those involved were transferred to Cairo, Illinois to start a school there.
The first St. Louis parochial school in which the Sisters of Loretto taught was St. Michael's at 11th and Benton. It opened in 1869. In 1871, 180 girls and 60 small boys were taught there by the Sisters of Loretto while 116 boys were taught by the Christian Brothers. Subsequently many schools throughout the metropolitan St. Louis area were staffed by the order. The Sisters continued their affiliation with that first parish until the school was closed in 1963, when they were transferred to Ascension parochial school in Chesterfield, MO.
Loretto Academy - St. Louis
Loretto Academy at Jefferson and PineAfter years of effort, the Loretto Academy opened at Jefferson and Pine. The school still had boarders as its sister school in Florissant did, but as the population of the city crept towards it, students in the day school increased. The 1890 prospectus for the school gives a vivid sense of the times:
"This Academy was opened in 1874, since which time it has been one of the best patronized Educational Institutes in the city.
It is centrally located in one of the best portions of St. Louis, where the air is healthful and the surroundings agreeable. The building is large and well ventilated, combining both comfort and convenience. Spacious and well arranged classrooms, separated by corridors, offer facilities for the maintenance of order and a proper attention to study and recitation.
The course of instruction comprises Christian Doctrine, Orthography, Reading and Elocaturion, Plain and Ornamental Writing, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Book-Keeping, Grammar, Rhetoric and Composition, Literature; Ancient, Modern and Physical Geography; Astronomy, with use of globes; Sacred and Profane History; Natural PHilosophy, Chemistry, Mythology, Botany, Logic, Metaphysics, Ethics, Modern Languages; Music on Piano and Guitar; Vocal Music, Drawing and Painting, Tapestry, and Embroidery in Linen, Silk and Chenille.
Anyone who persists in manifesting a spirit of insubordination shall be dismissed. Strangers desiring to enter pupils at the Academy must be furnished with letters of introduction from reliable sources. No young lady is accessible to callers during study or recitation hours, except in extraordinary cases.
Examinations in the several classes are held every Quarter, and at the end of each a Report is transmitted to the parents or guardians of the pupil, giving a statement of her progress in study, and general deportment.
The Scholastic Term closes with the distribution of Premiums, to which the parents of the pulils and the special friends of the Institution are invited.
At the completiong of the Academic Course, a Gold Medal and Laurel Wreath are awarded for Superior Literary Merit.
First Loretto Academy on Lafayette St. in St. LouisBy 1901 the location was no longer deemed as "healthful" nor the surroundings so "agreeable" for a girls' school. Relocation efforts sought a lovely site on Lafayette across from Reservoir Park. After renovations and respites at temporary locations such as the one pictured here, the academy opened in 1909 with 80 students.
Loretto Academy on Lafayette St. It grew so much in the first few years that the school sought and attained affiliation with the Catholic Universities of America in 1915. In later years it became affiliated with St. Louis University, the University of Missouri and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Although it had a reputation of being a school for St. Louis elite, many girls attended by cleaning the school in order to help pay their tuition.
The population of St. Louis continued its relentless push westward and attendance at the Academy dwindled. Loretto Academy closed in 1952 in order that the Lorettos could take up a new assignment from Archbishop Ritter. They opened and taught at a new Archdiocesan high school: De Andreis High School. The building has had a variety of occupants since that time. It has been a day care center, a home for faculty teaching a neighboring parishes, a home for retired nuns and now, since 1993, it has a new life as Our Lady of the Pillar apartments for needful women and their families.
Crucifix Loretto Academy has a presence at every Mass celebrated at Nerinx Hall through the crucifix. On the back of it is this typewritten note: "This is a wood-carved crucifix brought from Rome, Italy by Mother M. Praxedes Carty, S.L., and hung in the Infirmary at Loretto Academy, St. Louis. After the house was renovated Sister M. Lilliana Owens, S.L., who knew the history of the beautiful crucifix asked that it be brought from the attic where it had been placed and asked that it be hung in the front hall where it now hangs 1962." In 1988, when the Sisters of Loretto surrendered the property to the Pillar Place corporation, the crucifix was brought to Nerinx. Sr. Helen Santa Maria began using it at all Nerinx masses and so the tradition continues today.
The Sisters of Loretto in Webster Groves, MO
1898
Loretto Seminary, Webster Groves, MO
The Sisters of Loretto teach the boys of Holy Redeemer parish in the church building at Lockwood and Selma.
The Sisters open a school for girls, "Loretto Academy." It's name soon changes formally to "Loretto Seminary"but it is informally known as "The Webster Place." Referring to it by the name of the original owner of the property avoids confusion with Loretto Academy in the city.
1905
Loretto Seminary destroyed by fire.
The girls are sent to Loretto Academy in Florissant.
1906
Temporary school after the fire, Webster Groves, MO
A small frame building is erected for the girls' classes.
It comes to be known as "The Shack."
1909
The Sisters withdraw from Holy Redeemer school.
1916
Webster College Building
Loretto College and Academy are established.
1919
The Sisters of Loretto decide to concentrate on the College.
Plans are made to abolish the junior section that teaches high school.
1924
Sisters rename the college to be "Webster College."
Sisters open Nerinx Hall on adjoining property.
1967
Ownership of Webster College is transferred to a lay board of directors.
