Loretto Catholic School in Douglas reaches Centennial

 

This month Loretto Catholic School in Douglas will celebrate its 100th year. The centennial will be commemorated on Saturday, September 21, 2024. Loretto Catholic School is part of Saint Luke’s Parish in Douglas.  

 

The school opened in 1924 and throughout its history has been under the leadership of the Sisters of Loretto, the Sisters of St. Dominic of Adrian, and the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Today it’s under the direction of the Diocese of Tucson.  

 

Rosella Melgoza is the principal of Loretto Catholic School; she said the school is considered a landmark in the border community. Students who attend the K-8 school represent the communities of Douglas, Pirtleville, and neighboring Agua Prieta, Sonora in Mexico. Melgoza says each year the school enrolls more than 230 students. It’s estimated more 30,000 students have graduated from the school in its 100-year history. Melgoza said, “Although not all children in Douglas come to school here, you know that students who wear the school uniform are distinguished because of their respectfulness, their hard work, their academic preparation, and their faith.”  

 

Like other Catholic schools in the Diocese of Tucson, students attend Mass weekly while participating as lectors, altar servers, and gift-bearers. Melgoza said faith is not just taught, it is lived, “The teachers present faith in a way that demonstrates truth, beauty, and goodness, and it does not contradict scientific inquiry.” Loretto Catholic School boasts a “fun yet rigorous curriculum that encourages students to grow in all facets of their lives.” Students enjoy extracurricular activities as well as sports. Melgoza said she is proud that alumni “become compassionate, intelligent, moral leaders” as they follow Christ and the Gospel values. Over the years she said students have returned for visits often wanting to see the historic chapel, “It commemorates a great number of pleas and answered prayers.”  

 

The school’s rich history is visible in the architecture of the historic brick building. Archives from the then local newspaper The Douglas Daily International report that the three-story building was constructed in just more than one year. At the time, it was revered as “one of the most modern Catholic institutions in the southwest.” Loretto Catholic School was constructed through a donation from philanthropist Mrs. Ellen Brophy in memory of her late husband, William, who at one time, served as the general manager of the Phelps Dodge Mercantile Company. Melgoza says the gift included both the land and the funds for the school’s construction, records show it cost $150,000 to build.  Though the institution began as a boarding school it eventually transitioned to a day school. The instructors, many of them Sisters, lived in the building’s sleeping quarters. Today it has nine classrooms to serve Catholic students.  

 

In 1924 when the school opened, there was much celebration and a blessing by multiple bishops. It’s reported that clergy from throughout the diocese and neighboring Sonora, Mexico, attended the celebration. One hundred years later, the centennial celebration will be similar with both Most Reverend Bishop Edward Weisenburger and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson concelebrating the Mass at Saint Luke's Catholic Church. Melgoza invites everyone to attend the celebration Mass which will be followed by a tour of the school and other festivities, “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has been supporting our school as it reached this milestone. It is with God’s grace that we have been here this long, and God willing be here another 100 years.”  

 

The celebration is on Saturday, September 21, 2024, beginning at 5 p.m. Visitors can RSVP by emailing [email protected] or calling 520-364-5754. You can also visit Loretto Catholic School’s Facebook page to learn more.