Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters Celebrate 100 years in our Diocese

1917 - The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary had to leave Mazatlan because of the Mexican Revolution. On their way to join the communities in California, they stopped in Tucson, Arizona. Bishop Granjon of Tucson asked the Sisters to stay in Tucson and so they obliged. In the beginning, the Sisters taught at Holy Cross School, in Tucson. The novitiate was opened at Holy Cross convent, (now known as Santa Cruz). There they formed young girls who wanted to leave everything to follow the Lord.

1931 - The doors of Immaculate Heart Academy opened at 6th Avenue and 15th Street in
Tucson. The Sisters taught students K-12th grade.

1933 - A statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was unveiled at the Academy. The same statue now graces the front entrance to Immaculate Heart High School, as Our Holy Mother continues to watch over the sisters, students, teachers and the whole school community.

1946 - The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary attracted more and more vocations, many of them graduates from the Academy. With the numbers growing they opened other schools in different parts of the United States. In Arizona especially, they evangelized not just in the schools but, after regular classes, in many missions in small mining towns around Tucson.

1946 - The Sisters in Arizona became the Province of Saint Joseph, having the Provincial quarters at the Academy.

1947 - The Novitiate moved to Sabino Canyon Road, at the foothills of the Catalina Mountains. Being in the middle of the desert was very conducive to silence, prayer and meditation to find the Lord and get closer to Him.


1950 - St. Ann’s Convent was opened. A retirement house for the Sisters with a chapel opened to the public.

1954 - Immaculate Heart Lodge was opened. A new convent with facilities for resident students and a chapel opened to the public.

1962 - Immaculate Heart High School moved to its new location at 625 E Magee Road. This was because the increasing enrollment at the Academy now exceeded 500 students. The downtown Academy continued to accommodate children K-8th grade.

1986 - Immaculate Heart Academy (K-8th) opened at the Magee road location. Sister Mary Evelyn Soto was named the first principal of Immaculate Heart Academy.

So many of us in southern Arizona remember the Immaculate Heart Sisters fondly. They have educated generations of Catholics. I am grateful for their continued service to our diocese and pray for their continued presence for many years to come.