Loreto College, Kolkata, was established in 1912 by the Religious of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I.B.V.M.). The order was founded by MARY WARD (1585-1645), a dynamic English Catholic lady, in an age when Catholics were persecuted in England. Europe was torn by religious dissension and women's rights were generally ignored. A determined visionary, she managed, with the help of some devoted companions, to set up schools for young women.

In 1625, she established a religious order for women with very unusual features. Women religious were usually cloistered, under the jurisdiction of the local bishop, Mary Ward envisioned a very active order, working in the society at large for the education and upliftment of both rich and poor women.