The arrival of the Loreto nuns in Gibraltar 14th December 2020 This year marks the 175th anniversary of the Loreto Convent and to mark the event local historian Richard Garcia has written three articles. By Richard Garcia The first Loreto nuns arrived in Gibraltar on 16 December 1845, accompanied by the Vicar Apostolic of Gibraltar, Rt Rev Henry Hughes. This happened in a decade of turmoil for the Catholic church and for education in Gibraltar. They were greeted on arrival by soldiers lining Main Street in their honour. The bells of what is now the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned rang out when they arrived at the doors. The Governor of the day, General Sir Robert Wilson, was there to greet the five nuns and to be introduced to them by Bishop Hughes. So was the Junta of Elders, elected from the Catholic rate-payers in Gibraltar. It is clear that there was a great air of expectation.