SoCal History: The Catholic sisters who helped remake the Church from Los Angeles

The Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary (IHMs) — a Catholic community and teaching institute for women based in Los Angeles — has a long history of activism and social justice work, often resisting the status quo.

This led to lasting changes in the Catholic church — and those efforts largely happened right here in Southern California.

A California arrival, 1871

Originally founded in Spain in 1848, the Immaculate Heart Sisters landed in SoCal in 1871 after an invitation from the California bishop brought 10 sisters to the region.

By the 1920s and '30s, they had established the first all-girls Catholic high school and the first accredited Catholic girls college in Los Angeles, led by broad-minded mother superiors who were known for their wide-ranging ideas and perspectives.

“They weren’t afraid to invite people who might disagree with the church or with church policies,” Diane Winston, a Knight chair in media and religion at USC Annenberg, said during a conversation on AirTalk, LAist 89.3’s daily news show.

The group flourished in SoCal in the 1960s, which came at a time when the Catholic church started to reimagine itself. By 1962, the Vatican had its Second Vatican Council, a landmark meeting that led the Church to modernize.

Sisters in the 60s counterculture era

Immaculate Heart College Art Department Rules, created around 1966–1967 by artist, educator, and nun Sister Corita Kent along with her students and colleagues.

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Corita Kent. Art and Soul. The Biography.

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Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library

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From the folk-rock enclave in Laurel Canyon to the six-day Watts uprising, L.A. was at the forefront of the 1960s counterculture and the civil rights movement.

At the same time, the demographics were rapidly changing. Urban populations expanded significantly as the expansion of African American and Latino communities in the city coincided with white flight.

This consequential period for the city prompted the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart to make their own decision to respond to the signs of the times.

Winston said she believes ideas surrounding “authenticity” in the '60s combined desires for self-realization and making the world a better place — and this informed how the sisters wanted to live, what professions they could serve and how they interacted with the world.

Sister Lenore Navarro Dowling, a member of the Immaculate Heart Sisters since 1950, said, “Many of us went to get training to be a lawyer, a nurse, a social worker.”

Sister Corita Kent

One of the most prominent figures of IHM during the 1960s was Sister Corita Kent, an artist known for her pop art prints combining words and images from commercials, political statements and brands.

“She took the big G logo from General Mills, and made it stand for the goodness of God as well as the goodness of life on this earth,” Winston said.

The Big G Stands for Goodness (1964) by Corita Kent.

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Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library

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Corita Kent. Art and Soul. The Biography

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Corita Kent's "Sunkist" (1965) .

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Corita Kent. Art and Soul. The Biography

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Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library

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Corita Kent's (1985) 22-cent "Love" stamp.

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Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library

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Corita Kent. Art and Soul. The Biography

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"Eight Men Slain" Corita Kent's "Eight Men Slain," part of the "My People" series (1965).

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Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library

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Corita Kent. Art and Soul. The Biography.

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Dowling said it was revolutionary at the time for sisters to feel free to make choices.

“Making changes turned out to be an act of resistance,” Dowling said, adding, “We were in solidarity with one another in resistance to the administration of the Catholic Church.”

IHM today

The sisters of IHM function today as a network of Catholic parishes, schools and congregations across the nation that represent various professions that active sisters pursue.

Dowling said the nuns are still extremely active in social justice causes.

“Standing our ground is a core value,” she said.

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