At Toronto’s Loretto College School, the spirit of Mary Ward as a founding visionary continues to pulse through the all-girls Catholic school, as seemingly endless initiatives and day-to-day acts of mentoring, fundraising, inclusion and education carry on turning faith into fearless service. 

More than 400 years removed from Mary Ward’s founding of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a mission for educating girls boldly and living faith actively in the world, her call to "do good and do it well" remains the heartbeat today at Loretto College. With 550 students and proudly calling itself a small school with a big heart, chaplain and religion teacher Annalisa Crudo-Perri and a generation of young women are carrying that legacy forward through art, advocacy, STEM education and daily acts of justice and care. 

Speaking to The Catholic Register after a hectic Mary Ward Week at the end of January, Crudo-Perri shared some of the faith-in-action initiatives that Loretto College has been proudly participating in during the first months of 2026.

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“We have been busy here as of late, that is for sure. Earlier this month, our dance team performed Streets as a way to shine a light on the city’s homelessness crisis. Combined with liturgy celebrations, school-led competitions and different opportunities through ongoing partnerships, our girls here have been serving the community and each other in a remarkable way,” she said. 

Speaking to the recent dance production of Streets, Grade 12 student representative and chaplaincy leader Daniella DeSa said the unique call to action was exactly the kind of initiative Mary Ward would have been proud to see come to life. 

“ Mrs. (Andrea) Ramolo had worked with the homeless and saw how bad the crisis was in Toronto, so while the dance performance was complete with fun and loud music, she also wanted to show people that there are ways for us to help,” she said. 

“I think we're trying to lead like Mary Ward, and putting together this dance piece connects us to our roots, because she believed in faith being active in the world. It showed that we’re not just students, but people called to serve for  social justice as well.” 

Loretto College was also one of the Mary Ward schools that celebrated Mary Ward Day on Jan. 23, with this year's school-focused event bringing Loretto Sisters such as Sr. Evanne Hunter to the school for a presentation. Mary Ward Centre director Audrey Ferrer was also involved, leading a small prayer liturgy and revisiting Mary Ward's lasting impact as students joined in celebration.

For Grade 10 student Marielle Rose Caturza, the day was memorable for revisiting the founders' legacy in a tangible, inclusive way. 

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“This really helped me learn about the things that Mary Ward did and how it empowers girls through social efforts, leadership and including people into a community. It was also a great opportunity to show how we should live like her and continue to do the things that she did before,” she said. 

More recently, on Feb. 7, the school hosted a province-wide robotics competition that saw 24 teams from across Ontario visit the school for a day well-aligned with Mary Ward's vision of empowering women through bold education, in this case, science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) opportunities. 

Apart from individual events, the school also prides itself on its ongoing service initiatives, such as Project Daffodil, a monthly cancer awareness fundraiser that gives back and provides awareness for various cancer detection and prevention. DeSa also highlighted the Big Sister-Little Sister club that pairs older and younger students for mentoring and support, and the ongoing Abrigo Centre partnership that facilitates weekly visits to work with the girls through education on various counselling and support services. 

Listening to her students recount the many initiatives that serve Mary Ward’s vision in the modern age, Crudo-Perri reflected on her own call to service and the path that led her to accompaniment at Loretto College School. 

“ God works in mysterious ways. This is the fifth school that I've been in, and from the moment I stepped through the doors, there was just a different kind of spirit here. Maybe that’s the Holy Spirit,” she said. 

“These girls are truly inspiring to me. When our chaplain retired after 40 years, I got this position after thinking about what my role here would look like, and it's been an extreme honour.” 

Crudo-Perri sees both the next generation of faith-driven Catholic women in front of her, as well as her own personal reason to continue coming through Loretto College’s doors each day. 

“My office is nonstop, and they are coming in each day wanting to do different initiatives. They are amazing girls, and they are going to be fantastic women leaders; they already are, but I'm still here to support them in whatever they want to do,” she said. 

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“ Those girls, leading with their faith, they're waiting for me at the front door (each morning), and  there is always something going on here, let’s put it that way.” 

As the co-executive director of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education, Crudo-Perri is also planning ahead for the group’s annual conference in April, focusing on the theme of “ Being a Genuine Shepherd in an AI World.”