Loretto Nuns

Loretto Nuns, order comprised of members of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a religious body of the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded by Englishwoman Mary Ward in 1609 in Saint-Omer, France, as an order for women similar to the Jesuit order for men. The principal work of the Loretto Nuns is the education of girls. In 1631 Pope Urban VIII suppressed the foundation, but it reopened soon afterwards in Rome, with other houses following in England and Germany. During the 19th century, new foundations arose in Ireland, India, Canada, and the United States. Entirely distinct is the foundation of the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross, founded in 1812 in Kentucky by Father Charles Nerinckz, which was the first such foundation without European affiliation.