Loretta Schafer

Born(1917-04-02)April 2, 1917

DiedFebruary 19, 1998(1998-02-19) (aged 80)^[1]

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, US

Burial placeSisters of Providence Convent Cemetery, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, US

TitleGeneral Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

Sister Loretta Schafer, S.P.
Born	(1917-04-02)April 2, 1917
Died	February 19, 1998(1998-02-19) (aged 80)[1] Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, US
Burial place	Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, US
Title	General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Predecessor	Mother Mary Pius Regnier, S.P.
Successor	Sister Anne Doherty, S.P.

Sister Loretta Schafer, S.P., (April 2, 1917 – February 19, 1998) was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1976 to 1981. In 1977, she worked with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop and construct the Maryvale Retirement Complex at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.^[2]

Schafer served as Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, the first woman to serve in this position.

In 1978, she sold Chicago's Providence St. Mel School, which had been property of the Sisters of Providence, to principal Paul Adams after the Archdiocese of Chicago withdrew financial support. The story of the community's rallying spirit to keep the school open gained national attention and press, including a Reader's Digest article "A School That Wouldn't Die".