History

The Sisters of St. Louis have been in California since 1949.  The first 8 Irish Sisters came by boat from Southampton, England, to New York, and from there by train via Chicago and Omaha to El Monte, CA.  The Archdiocese of Los Angeles was expanding rapidly and most parishes were establishing schools to meet the educational needs of a growing Catholic population.  Nativity School, El Monte was the first of several parish schools that we staffed.

As the number of Sisters increased, we responded to requests to staff several parish and diocesan schools:

• St. Cyprian, Lakewood
• Corpus Christi, Pacific Palisades
• St. Bede, La Cañada
• Our Lady of Refuge, Long Beach
• Our Lady Help of Christians, Los Angeles
• St. Louis of France, La Puente
• St. Joseph, Long Beach
• St. Anthony Claret, Anaheim
• Holy Name of Mary, San Dimas-La Verne
• St. Robert, Sacrament
• Our Lady of Malibu, Malibu
• St. Mel, Woodland Hills
• Cathedral Chapel, Los Angeles
• Blessed Sacrament, Westminster
• Our Lady of Grace, Encino
• San Miguel, Los Angeles
• St. Anselm, Los Angeles
• Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana
• Bishop Amat Memorial High School, La Puente
• St. Anthony High School, Long Beach
• Bishop Minogue Memorial High School, Sacramento

In 1958, with the help of Los Angeles Archdiocese, the Sisters were able to purchase the lovely Manzanita Ranch in Woodland Hills.  Here, in 1960, we established Louisville High School, a thriving center for the education of young women for almost 50 years.    

In response to emerging Church needs over the years, the Sisters have engaged in some new ministries and withdrawn from others.  These ministries have called us in recent years to Ahoskie, NC, Salt Lake City, UT, Chicago, IL, and Washington, DC.  In the wake of Vatican II and in response to the call of Paul VI to share resources with developing countries, three Sisters began a new mission in Barrolandia, Brasil, in 1976.