Twelve nuns from Ireland got off a boat in December 1841 somewhere near the spot where Babughat would later come up and were put up in “a splendid three-storey mansion Number 5, Middleton Row”. About a month later, Loreto House opened in that building.

Early occupants of the building included Henry Vansittart, governor of Bengal (1760-64), and Sir Elijah Impey, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774-82).

The maiden exhibition of the Loreto Province Archives, “Revisiting Loreto Glimpses into the History of Loreto in South Asia,” opened on Friday. It chronicles the history of Loreto institutes and displays items that were used by the nuns and the institutes.

“We celebrated our 175th anniversary last year and this is to open up what is a rich history not just of education, but of society, of development, particularly of women.... As citizens of this country, as educators we would like to give back by sharing how India has contributed in supporting our missionaries of the past and the work of the missionaries today,” said Sister Anita Maria Braganza, Province leader.

Panels on display describe how 12 nuns who had arrived in Calcutta from Ireland in December 1841 were put up in the building where Loreto House started its journey a month later. There was also a list of early residents of the building.

The exhibition at the Loreto College hall will be on till November 28 (except Sunday). Viewing time is 9.30am to 4.30pm.

The Province plans to make the exhibition a permanent event with a dedicated area for researchers to go through the documents. “We are looking for a venue (for a permanent exhibition).... This is where Loreto began… in a way it’s our gift to the city,” said Sister Braganza.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Sister Noelle Corscadden, IBVM, General Leader of the Loreto Sisters worldwide. Sister Corscadden said the exhibits from the “dusty pages, books and photographs...” contained the “extraordinary stories, stories of courageous journeys, of people leaving their home and some leaving their country.”

The exhibits included a porcelain foot warmer, a projector, a typewriter and also photographs of the nuns who have been part of the order. On Friday, sisters were seen poring over the photographs.

One among them was Sister Joan, now 82, who had joined the order in the 1950s and came to India from Dublin in 1960. “Such an exhibition gives an idea of the early beginnings. By the time we joined, things had settled,” she said.

“Loreto House opened its doors on January 10, 1842.... Loreto House has always attracted well-to-do people because even during the British time Park Street was the hub of British culture. But what is overlooked is that a lot of community service centres and schools for poor children were set up,” said Kaveri Dutt of the Loreto Education Board.