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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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t afraid to invite people who might disagree with the church or with church policies,\u201d Diane Winston<\/a>, a Knight chair in media and religion at USC Annenberg, said during a conversation on AirTalk, LAist 89.3\u2019s daily news show.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Sisters in the 60s counterculture era<\/p>\n Immaculate Heart College Art Department Rules, created around 1966\u20131967 by artist, educator, and nun Sister Corita Kent along with her students and colleagues.<\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Corita Kent. Art and Soul. The Biography.<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n From the folk-rock enclave in Laurel Canyon<\/a> to the six-day Watts uprising<\/a>, L.A. was at the forefront of the 1960s counterculture and the civil rights movement.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Winston said she believes ideas surrounding \u201cauthenticity\u201d in the ’60s combined desires for self-realization and making the world a better place \u2014 and this informed how the sisters wanted to live, what professions they could serve and how they interacted with the world.<\/p>\n Sister Lenore Navarro Dowling, a member of the Immaculate Heart Sisters since 1950, said, \u201cMany of us went to get training to be a lawyer, a nurse, a social worker.\u201d<\/p>\n Sister Corita Kent<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778178248_356_.jpeg\")
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