Groundbreaking for Our Lady of Loreto Church/School was held on March 28, 1961. Clearing of the site began the following day. The site chosen was once a popular woodland area referred to as "Our Enchanted Forest." Seven acres were to be cleared for the new building. Four acres were to remain untouched, extending along the lower boundary of West Liberty School.

The groundbreaking was the culmination of a two-year struggle to begin construction of the new complex that began in May of 1959 with the establishment of the Our Lady of Loreto parish. From the beginning, the project was beset by difficulties, ranging from unstable land to incompatibilities with the existing sewage lines.

Once these obstacles were overcome, construction began in earnest in June of 1961. On September 24, 1961, the cornerstone was laid, and within a year the building was ready for occupancy. Dedication Day was August 22, 1962.

Although major construction was complete, there still remained the task of creating a permanent church. For six years, Mass was held in the school gymnasium. Construction of the permanent church began in May of 1969 and was completed in October. The first mass in the new church was held on October 22, 1969, marking the completion of the project begun a decade earlier.

Below are photos showing the construction of Our Lady of Loreto Church and School from 1960 through 1962. Loreto is located off of Pioneer Avenue and Chrysler Street, adjacent to Moore Park. It was the fourth offspring parish formed from the original boundaries of Resurrection Church, and the entire cost of construction was $541,650.

For over thirty years, the school was one of the premier diocesan institutions, both academically and athletically, but as the local population began a continuous decline, the school struggled financially. Loreto was not the only school in hardship. All three local diocesan schools were in a period of decline.

In 1996, Our Lady of Loreto School was merged with Resurrection and St. Pius X to form Brookline Regional Catholic. Some lower grade classes were held in the Loreto school building until 2003, but after that the school was closed.

Brookline Regional Catholic was renamed Saint John Bosco Academy in 2014 and, with the student enrollment at an all-time low, the school was permanently shuttered in 2019, the last of the parochial schools in the neighborhood.

Through it all the parish continued on, with services held weekly until August 30, 2020, when a "Mass of Farewell" was held by Pastor James Bachner putting an end to Our Lady of Loreto's glorious and spiritually lifting sixty-one year history.

Click on images below for larger pictures

* Photos provided by Our Lady of Loreto Archives *