History and The Hidden Stories of Valiant Women in the Catholic Church

The Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism sponsors a Triennial Conference on the History of Women Religious at its home, Notre Dame University.  The conference highlights women religious and their contributions to the American Catholic church history.  The theme for this 13^th Triennial Conference was Lives and Archives. Some friends of mine who have attended the conference and knew its topics would interest me invited me to attend this summer which I gladly did in late June. The Center promotes study and research on all subjects of American Catholicism. Researchers from around the world come to Cushwa for help and resources in their work. 

I thought I knew a considerable trove about women religious in the U.S., but I had a lot to learn. Archivists and historians representing fourteen countries offered over 84 papers and presentations covering the various works of catholic sisters. I heard my first AI presentation when an author from Norway was concerned that her accent may make it difficult to understand her presentation, so used an AI generated voice for the presentation. I learned, for instance, about foundling hospitals in Paris, catholic sisters who served as nurses in worldwide medical crises such as yellow fever, pandemic influenza, AIDS. I viewed initial footage of a documentary about artist Corita Kent a former sister and learned the role sisters played in Europe during World War II hiding Jews at great personal risk. We saw films taken at the time of sisters shielding Jewish children getting them to safety in Poland and learned about those in Rome who worked alongside the Vatican in providing safety and escape for hundreds of Jews. During the more recent wars in Africa, sisters hid young girls from the ravages of military seizure and rape, at the expense of the sisters’ own safety leading to violent abuse and even execution. You name the crisis, and the sisters were there and continue to be there today!

There is a growing interest in the history of women religious among historians and multi-disciplinary academics, which has occurred seemingly for a few reasons. First, sisters historically kept meticulous records of their history and ministries which provide insight and data about various times and circumstances throughout history. Researchers, historians, students, and documentarians value access to this information. Second, although the vowed life will endure, some communities are increasingly facing completion in their current mode of existence and their history in danger of being lost. Third, a groundswell of a new generation of well-educated professional archivists have taken positions as archivists for religious communities working alongside the sister archivists to blow the dust from many bins of documents and treasures retrieving the stories that need to be told for a comprehensive history of the community and the Church along with the culture and environment in which both existed. Diocesan archives in the Catholic Church are interested in the sacramental history of a diocese such as establishment of parishes, schools and diocesan works that foster the sacramental life of the region. Religious communities exist independently of this focus, so their archives are separate. 

To this end, four groups have galvanized throughout the United States to construct archival repositories to harvest the archives of Catholic Sisters. These repositories will be located at Boston College, Santa Clara University in California, The Heritage and Research Center (HARC) at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, and the Women Religious Archive Collaborative (WRAC) in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Cleveland initiative, scheduled to open in 2027 is now a reality since its groundbreaking on July 22 under the leadership of Sister Susan Durkin, OSU, and a team of experts in archival work. The planned 30,000 square foot heritage center will house a 16,000 square foot, temperature-controlled vault to house collections, a study area for researchers and students, a programming space for presentations and exhibit space both open to the public and school groups for rotating historical and current displays. Durkin is quick to point out that stories are powerful teaching tools and this facility will eventually house the important archives of over 75 religious communities across the United States and Canada, that otherwise could be lost to posterity. Current and future generations will have a space to learn and be inspired by stories that depict our faith in action and the power of community and collaboration. Catholic Sisters have been significant contributors to creating much needed services and institutions in the cities where they served and continue to serve. As a woman religious, with our Vincentian Sisters collection slated to come to WRAC, I have watched the maturation of this enterprise with great interest. It will serve as a great asset to Cleveland and the world as it will hold a universe of the meaning of God’s love as manifested in the way certain groups of people formed to serve the needs of others.

Reflection

Do you see the value of preserving religious histories? I think of the Bible as a moving portable archive of God’s journey with us for thousands of years before Christ and after. The stories therein are testimonies of God’s faithfulness to us even when we got lost or did not believe God would help us. The current interest in family genealogy is not dry history; it is alive with love, courage, joy, trials, resurrections. In biblical scholarship, scholars ferret out the nuances found in archives so we can understand more completely how much God loves all creation, the sordid as well as the good. You and I are writing the extension of the New Testament, the open-ended story of how we are living Christ in daily life.

Why not meditate on the history of God’s own working within us and the story it presents to others? What would your family archives say about you? Include in your prayer an appreciation of history as a recalling of grace and blessings so that we might go forward to live more fully and lovingly carrying those graces. As Durkin says, “So the stories can be told.”

If you would like more information about WRAC in Cleveland, visit archivescollaborative.org or contact sdurkin@archivescollaborative.org

You might want to consider a donation, especially in the name of a sister you particularly were fond of to help them reach their fundraising goal.