Sister of Loretto Mary Peter Bruce died Aug. 6 at the Loretto Motherhouse Infirmary in Nerinx, Ky. She was 88 and in her 70th year of religious life as a Sister of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross.
Sister Bruce entered the Sisters of Loretto in 1950, made her first vows in 1953 and final vows in 1956. She served in parochial education in Missouri and Alabama.
In 1960, Sister Bruce, along with several other Loretto sisters, established a school in La Paz, Bolivia. From 1960 to 1964, she ministered to the indigenous Aymara and other native peoples in the Altiplano area outside La Paz. She later trained deacons and deacon wives to serve the people of Altiplano. To improve communication among the widely scattered Aymara, she created Radio San Gabriel and trained young women to produce the radio programs.
She later worked in various catechetical ministries in Washington, D.C.; El Paso, Texas; and Denver, Colo. From 2004 to 2008, she served at the United Nations headquarters in New York City as Loretto’s non-governmental organization representative.
She retired to the Loretto Motherhouse in 2015.
Survivors include her sister, Loretto co-member Lillian Moskeland of Yellow Springs, Ohio.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Aug. 11 at the Church of the Seven Dolors on the grounds of the Loretto Motherhouse. Burial was in the Loretto Motherhouse Nature Preserve Cemetery.
Memorials may be sent to the Loretto Community, care of Loretto Development Office, at Loretto Motherhouse, 515 Nerinx Road, Nerinx, Ky., 40049.
