Immaculate Heart College was a private,

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

located in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The college offered various courses including art and religious education studies. By June 1906, six young women had become the first graduates of the adjacent Immaculate Heart High School. The college campus was owned and conducted by the

Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), founded as the Daughters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic religious teaching institute for women. The institute was founded in the Catalan city of ...

who had founded Immaculate Heart Convent and High School on their property in 1905. The high school still specialises in preparing its students for university education. In the following decades, both Immaculate Heart High School and the College soon established their reputations as an excellent university preparatory school for girls and

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

center respectively. By far the majority of the high school's more than 10,000 graduates continued their education at colleges and universities across the country. The women - and male graduates of the college - have served with distinction as artists, musicians, educators, journalists, doctors, lawyers, judges, and stars of stage and screen. Some Immaculate Heart women were pioneers in professions not accustomed to having women.TIME Magazine
The Immaculate Heart Rebels
February 16, 1970 The religious community's original convent building, much of which was torn down in the early 1970s, included classrooms for high school and elementary students, boarding facilities for girls, offices and living quarters for the sisters. The Jo Anne Cotsen Building was formerly the Immaculate Heart College Student Union Building. It was purchased by the American Film Institute in 1983. History IHM Community
, The Immaculate Heart Community. In the late 1960s, in response to directives from

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

as well as participation in therapy experiments run by researchers from the

Esalen Institute The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Poten ...

, the Sisters followed the guidance of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

and conducted an extensive review of their structure and proposed changes in how they prayed, worked, lived together and governed themselves. However, the Archbishop of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, Cardinal

James Francis McIntyre James Francis Aloysius McIntyre (June 25, 1886 – July 16, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1948 to 1970, and was created a cardinal in 1953. He was a highly successful bui ...

, was opposed to all of the sisters' proposed changes, leading to a public dispute where he ordered the removal of all Immaculate Heart Sisters teaching in Los Angeles diocesan schools, and finally presented the Community with an ultimatum: either conform to the standards of traditional religious life or seek dispensation from vows. In the end, 90% chose to dispense from their vows and reorganize as a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

( 501(c)(3)), The Immaculate Heart Community, a voluntary lay community.

Patricia Reif Patricia (Pat) Reif, also known as Sister Richard, (May 6, 1930 – March 24, 2002), was an American professor of philosophy and theology, known locally and nationally for her involvement in ecumenical issues, for her innovative leadership in the ...

played an important part in encouraging the establishment of an ecumenical community.

Corita Kent Corita Kent (November 20, 1918 – September 18, 1986), born Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, was an American artist, designer and educator, and former religious sister. Key themes in her work included Christian ...

was a member of the Community and obtained her degree from IHC. Sister Corita taught art at the College between 1938 and 1968. The College closed in 1981 due to financial difficulties; its successor was the Immaculate Heart College Center,Leslie Wirpsa, eminist spirituality core of unique M.A - Immaculate Heart College Center of Los Angeles offers the only master's program on women's spirituality ''National Catholic Reporter'', December 12, 1997. which closed in 2000.

Notable alumni

, artist * Karen Boccalero, artist, nun, founder of Self-Help Graphics & Art in Los Angeles *

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

, actress, '' Police Woman'' * Mark Ridley-Thomas, California legislator *

Cherríe Moraga Cherríe Moraga (born September 25, 1952) is a Chicana writer, feminist activist, poet, essayist, and playwright. She is part of the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Department of English. Moraga is also a founding m ...

, playwright and activist * Helena Maria Viramontes, novelist and short story writer, Professor of English, Cornell University * Lucia Capacchione, art therapist * Charlotte Caffey, musician and songwriter, "

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...

" *

Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and NB ...

, voice actress and actress well known for the voice of Ursula in the Little Mermaid *

Demi (author) Demi (born Charlotte Dumaresq Hunt; September 2, 1942) is a children’s book author and illustrator. During her career she has published over 300 titles. Biography Early life and education Demi was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the g ...

, artist and author/illustrator *

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 for ...

, Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, producer * Grace Perreiah, artist

References

External links

Official Immaculate Heart Community WebsiteThe Corita Art Center
part of the Community {{Authority control Defunct private universities and colleges in California Defunct Catholic universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1916 Educational institutions disestablished in 1981 1916 establishments in California