Editing Loretto, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Loretto was founded in 1886, and settled by German and Dutch immigrants. Its name comes from two sources: the [[Jesuits|Jesuit]] mission, Notre-Dame de la Jeune Lorette, on the east bank of the [[Saint-Charles River (Quebec City)|Saint Charles River]], about eight miles northwest of [[Quebec City]] in [[Canada]], known as Lorette, which served as a refuge for [[Wyandot people|Huron Indian]] refugees, and the village of [[Loretto, Kentucky]], where the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross were founded in 1812. The name's original inspiration stems from [[Loreto, Marche|Loreto]], a small town in Italy celebrated for its pilgrimage shrine.

The city was incorporated in 1940. The first mayor was Albert Van Beusekom.

In 2010, Loretto elected Kent Koch as its mayor. Koch was the starting second baseman on the [[St. Cloud State University]] baseball team, and was believed to be the only college student in the country who was also a mayor.<ref>Pennington, Bill. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/sports/baseball/23loretto.html St. Cloud State Second Baseman Takes Reins of His Hometown]. [[New York Times]], 2011-04-23.</ref>