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 Olot, (Spain) in 1848 by Father Joaquim Masmitjà i de Puig as a means of rebuilding society through the education of young women. A daughter house of the community was founded in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1871, and in 1924 formally separated from the Spanish congregation and was established as a distinct institute. Founding Joaquim Masmitjà was born in the Catalan city of Olot (Spain) on December 29, 1808, the fourth child of Francesc and Maria Gracia. He entered the minor seminary for the Diocese of Girona and then went on to get degrees in canon and civil law. Masmitjà, who was greatly devoted to the Blessed Virgin under the titles of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sorrowful Mother, was ordained a priest on February 22, 1834. Assigned to his hometown parish, Fr. Masmitjà became increasingly concerned over the poor education of young girls. He sought to rebuild society through their education in prayer and Christian doctrine. On July 1, 1848, Masmitjà founded the Institute of the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. During the Spanish Civil War IHM sisters Carme (age 41), Rosa (36), and Magdalena (34) Fradera, who were also blood sisters, were executed by the militia. They are among the 498 Martyrs of 20th Century Spain beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. United States California In 1869, Fr. Masmitja's friend Bishop Thaddeus Amat y Brusi of Monterey, California, was visiting Spain, and asked for some of the Sisters to come to California. Two years later, with Father Masmitja's approval, Mother Raimunda led nine others to the new California mission. The Sisters established two houses, one in Gilroy and the other in San Juan. Very soon the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart were teaching in several schools in different parts of California. Their lifestyle attracted young women to follow the charisma of Fr. Masmitja, and the Sisters inaugurated a third house in San Luis Obispo (1876), a fourth house in San Bernardino (1880), and finally the last house during the lifetime of Fr. Masmitja was established in Los Angeles (1886). On January 11, 1886, the IHMs began teaching in the Cathedral