Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary facts for kids

The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) are a group of Catholic religious women. They were first called the Daughters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This group focuses on teaching and helping others.

The Sisters were started in 1848 in Olot, a city in Catalonia, Spain. Father Joaquim Masmitjà i de Puig founded them. He wanted to help society by educating young women. In 1871, a new group of Sisters started in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. This American group officially became separate from the Spanish one in 1924.

How the Sisters Started

Fr. Joaquin Masmitjá

Joaquim Masmitjà was born in Olot, Spain, on December 29, 1808. He was the fourth child in his family. He studied to become a priest and was ordained on February 22, 1834.

Father Masmitjà worked in his hometown. He was worried that young girls were not getting a good education. He believed that by teaching girls about prayer and Christian beliefs, society could become better. So, on July 1, 1848, he started the Institute of the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

During the Spanish Civil War, three IHM Sisters, Carme, Rosa, and Magdalena Fradera, were killed. They were recognized as martyrs by the Catholic Church in 2007.

The Sisters in the United States

California Sisters

In 1869, a friend of Father Masmitjà, Bishop Thaddeus Amat y Brusi from California, visited Spain. He asked for some Sisters to come to California. Two years later, in 1871, Mother Raimunda led nine other Sisters to California.

The Sisters opened schools in Gilroy and San Juan. Soon, they were teaching in many schools across California. Many young women wanted to join them. They opened more houses in San Luis Obispo (1876), San Bernardino (1880), and Los Angeles (1886).

On January 11, 1886, the IHM Sisters began teaching at the Cathedral School in Los Angeles. It started as an elementary school. Later, under Sister Gabriel, a high school for girls was added. The Sisters taught at this school until 1969. They also ran orphanages.

Immaculate Heart Convent and College

Mother Raimunda led the California Sisters until she passed away in 1900. By 1906, the Sisters built their own main convent, called the Motherhouse. In 1916, Immaculate Heart College was started in Los Angeles.

Mother Genevieve Parker helped the California IHM Sisters become separate from the Spanish community. With the help of Bishop John Joseph Cantwell of Los Angeles, this separation happened in 1924. Mother Genevieve was then chosen as the first mother-general of the American group.

Arizona Sisters

In 1911, five Sisters from Spain and two from California went to start a school in Mazatlán, Mexico. Six years later, in 1917, they had to leave because of the Mexican Revolution. On their way back to California, they stopped in Arizona.

Bishop Henry Regis Granjon of Tucson, Arizona, invited them to stay. They accepted and began building schools and welcoming new members. The Sisters taught in schools and also helped in small mining towns around Tucson. As they grew, the Sisters in Arizona became their own group, called the Province of Saint Joseph, in 1946.

The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Tucson also help the Korean Catholic community. They let them use space at St. Ann's Convent for church services and faith learning. The IHM Sisters are still active in Arizona and Florida. In 2010, the Sisters from Miami started a new mission in La Concordia, Nicaragua.

Immaculate Heart Community Changes

By the 1960s, there were 600 Sisters teaching in many schools and colleges. In the late 1960s, the IHM Sisters wanted to update their ways of living. This was part of a bigger movement in the Catholic Church after Vatican II. They wanted to have a more democratic way of making decisions. They also wanted to wear regular clothes instead of their traditional religious habits.

The leader at the time, Anita Caspary, worked to make these changes happen. However, there was a disagreement with Archbishop James Francis McIntyre of Los Angeles. He wanted the Sisters to keep their traditional habits and rules if they taught in archdiocese schools. The Sisters felt they should decide these things themselves.

Because of this disagreement, around 300 IHM Sisters, led by Anita Caspary, decided to leave their vows on February 1, 1970. They then formed a new group called the Immaculate Heart Community. This new group includes both men and women. The 68 Sisters who chose to stay kept the name Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As of 2015, there are five Sisters in this group.

The Immaculate Heart Community now controls Immaculate Heart College and Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. Their main office is in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles. They also run a Center for Spiritual Renewal in Montecito, California. As of 2011, the Immaculate Heart Community had 160 members.

Wichita Sisters

Some Sisters who wanted to continue living their original way of life moved to the Diocese of Wichita in Kansas. These IHM Sisters in Wichita work mainly in education, youth ministry, and teaching about faith.

Schools Started by the Sisters

California

• Immaculate Heart High School−Los Angeles, started in 1906 in Los Angeles.
• Immaculate Heart College, from 1916 to 1981.
• Immaculate Heart Middle School, started in 1975.
• St Bernardines School High School, in San Bernardino, California, started in 1938. It joined with Aquinas High School in 1971.
• Alverno High School, started in 1960.

Arizona

• Immaculate Heart High School−Arizona, started in 1930.

Famous Sisters

• Sister Corita Kent – a well-known artist and activist for change.
• Sister Ruth Pfau – She moved from Germany to Pakistan. She spent over 50 years helping people with leprosy in Pakistan. She was honored as a national hero there and given a state funeral.

See also

In Spanish: Misioneras del Corazón de María para niños

• Spirit of Vatican II
• Catholic Church history after Vatican II
• Congregations of the Heart of Mary