Obedience, Responsibility, and Freedom: Anita M. Caspary, IHM, and the Post-Conciliar Renewal of Catholic Women Religious

As the only woman in U.S. Catholic history to hold the positions of mother general of a Catholic order of sisters and president of an ecumenical community, Anita M. Caspary, IHM, was a transformative figure in the post-conciliar Church. Under her leadership the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters (IHMs) of California relinquished their canonical status in 1970 to form the new Immaculate Heart Community. This biographical study shows continuities between her early Catholic formation, her handling of the conflict between the IHMs and the Church hierarchy, and her leadership in the renewal of communities of women religious.