Loretta Schafer

Sister Loretta Schafer, S.P., (April 17, 1917 – February 19, 1998) was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1976-1981. In 1977, she worked with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop and construct the Maryvale Retirement Complex at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.[2]

Sister Loretta Schafer, S.P.
Born	April 17, 1917
Died	February 19, 1998 (aged 80)[1] Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
Burial place	Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
Nationality	United States
Title	General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Predecessor	Mother Mary Pius Regnier, S.P.
Successor	Sister Anne Doherty, S.P.

Schafer served as Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, the first woman to serve in this position.

In 1978, she sold Chicago's Providence St. Mel School, which had been property of the Sisters of Providence, to principal Paul Adams after the Archdiocese of Chicago withdrew financial support. The story of the community's rallying spirit to keep the school open gained national attention and press, including a Readers Digest article "A School That Wouldn't Die."

References

1. "Sr Loretta M Schafer". Find a Grave. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
2. "Maryvale board approves step toward building". Terre Haute Saturday Spectator. 9 December 1978. Retrieved 6 November 2014 – via Find My Past.

• Bodenhamer, David J.; Robert Graham Barrows (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indiana University Press. p. 1437. ISBN 0-253-31222-1.

• Logan, Eugenia (1978). History of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods: Volume II. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Sisters of Providence.

• Hendryx, William M. "A School That Wouldn't Die" (PDF). Readers Digest. Retrieved December 22, 2009.

• Sisters of Providence. "Sister Loretta Schafer". Retrieved November 10, 2009.