Loretto Academy (El Paso, Texas)

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]

Loretto Academy
Address
1300 Hardaway Street

El Paso
,
(El Paso County)
,
Texas
79903

United States
Coordinates31°47′10″N 106°26′5″W
Information
TypePrivate, All-Girls for grades 6-12
MottoA Tradition Of Excellence/ Let Loretto Be Loretto Foever
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1923
FounderMother M. Praxedes Carty
PresidentMary Beth Boesen, SL
PrincipalMiddle & High School, Homero Silva
Grades9–12
Color(s)Yellow, Black and White    
SloganFour Core Values: Faith, Community, Justice & Respect
MascotAngels
AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools [1]
NewspaperThe Prax
AffiliationSisters of Loretto
Elementary PrincipalJane German
Athletic DirectorAngela Glover
ArchitectsTrost & Trost
Websitehttp://www.loretto.org

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 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]

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 2009-06-23.
  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 2020-09-14.
  4. Perez, Daniel (1989-12-13). "66 Years Later, Nuns' 'Folly' Is an El Paso Landmark". El Paso Times. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-09-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Manweller, Christina (Spring 2019). "Deus providebit: Loretto's Legacy in Texas". Loretto Magazine: 9–11 – via issuu.
  6. Metz, Leon (2004-01-19). "Lorettos's History a Story of Mother Praxedes". El Paso Times. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Graham, Marjorie (1956-04-22). "$450,000 Loretto Diamond Jubilee Construction Program Scheduled". El Paso Times. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-09-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Phelon, Craig (1978-08-05). "Loretto Academy Outlasts Rest". El Paso Times. p. 27. Retrieved 2020-09-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Loretto Academy El Paso". Henry C. Trost Historical Organization. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  10. Englebrecht, Lloyd C.; Engelbrecht, June F. (1990). "Loretto Academy". Trost Society. National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  11. "Work is Begun on College at El Paso". The Oklahoma City Times. 1922-09-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Admit Loretto College". El Paso Evening Post. 1928-12-12. p. 14. Retrieved 2020-09-18 – 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. "County Judge Veronica Escobar | Q&A". El Paso Inc. December 12, 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  16. Solorzano, Rosalia. "Valdes Villalva, María Guillermina (1939–1991)". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  17. Vitello, Paul (2012-01-24). "Jacqueline G. Wexler, Ex-Nun Who Took On Church, Dies at 85". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
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