Sisters of Loreto

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The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education. It was founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The congregation takes its name from the Marian shrine at Loreto in Italy where Ward used to pray. Ward was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2009. The Loreto Sisters use the initials IBVM after their names. Although education was its primary work, today the congregation is engaged in a wide variety of ministries: literacy programmes, spiritual direction, counselling, managing shelters for homeless women as well as several aspects of the movement for greater justice and peace in the world. The Loreto Sisters operate some 150 schools worldwide, educating over 70,000 pupils.

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