Associate Loretta Jendraszak, CSJA

Loretta Heyward Jendraszak has been married to Patrick Jendraszak, also a CSJ Associate, for 42 years. They have two children: Stephen (40), who is married to Lindsey and has two sons, Henry (9) and Charlie (7); and Andrew (39), a CSJ Associate and theology faculty member at St. Joseph's Academy, who is married to Elizabeth and has a son, Wilmot (1).

Loretta's journey with the Sisters of St. Joseph began in 1976 when Sister Carol Patron hired her as a first-grade teacher at St. Anthony's Elementary School in Atlanta. She worked closely with Sister Patty Clune and spent summers working at the St. Joseph's Carondelet Childcare Center in Chicago. In 1978, Loretta moved to Valdosta, Georgia, where she taught third grade alongside the CSJs at St. John the Evangelist.

From 1979 to 1981, Loretta served as the first lay Unit Supervisor at St. Joseph's Carondelet Childcare Center in Chicago. During this time, she attended the Loyola Institute of Pastoral Studies and met her husband, Patrick, who also worked at the Childcare Center.

After moving to Indianapolis in 1992, Loretta became a member of the Matrix Community, which has been extremely important to her. The community has evolved from an experimental to an established group of vowed and associate members (and others) who support living out the charism of unifying love of God and the dear neighbor, without distinction.

Loretta earned a master’s degree in education and went on to teach "non-traditional" adult college students as an adjunct faculty member at Ivy Tech Community College (2002) and supervise early childhood student teachers at St. Mary of the Woods College (2009), both in Indiana. She retired from her faculty position following the 2022-2023 term.

Reflecting on her experiences, Loretta shares, "My life, spirituality and ministry has been enriched by our Matrix Community and by many members of the community of St. Joseph, both vowed and associate, with whom I have been involved."

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