In Memory of Sr. Mary Hennessey, r.c.

Long-time CARA member Sister Mary Hennessey, r.c. died on January 27, 2020. Mary was a Cenacle Sister for 66 years and served as their Archivist from 2004-2014. Mary was an active supporter of CARA and a wonderful mentor to Jerice Barrios, who took over as Archivist for the Cenacle Sisters in 2014. Mary's warmth and wisdom will be much missed.

A Mass of Resurrection will be held for Mary on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. at the Chicago Cenacle at 513 W. Fullerton Parkway.

Preserving the Past, Building for the Future The Working Paper of the Boston College Conference released!

As many CARA members know, Malachy McCarthy, archivist for Claretian Missionaries Archives USA-Canada, is deeply committed to educating, planning, and advocating for Catholic archives, especially concerning the archives of groups of religious men and women that may be nearing completion. We congratulate him as the The Boston College Conference which met in July 2018 releases their paper. Their work, based on the shared wisdom and experience of archivists, administrators and historians, has much to offer religious archivists of any religious tradition.

You can read the paper by following the Boston College link below. If you are working with a Catholic archive and want to join a Google group on that subject, there is a link a little further down the page.


The working committee charged with gathering, reflecting upon and synthesizing the presentations and input from the Boston College Conference Envisioning the Future of Catholic Religious Archives is pleased to announce the release of a working paper titled Preserving the Past, Building for the Future.

The paper provides a broad outline of the major areas of concern for Catholic religious leaders, scholars and archivists who are invested in the long term preservation and use of these valuable collections as well as suggestions on ways we can move forward together in this important work. The committee recommends that this paper be used as a framework for considering possible solutions to specific challenges faced by each religious community and as a tool to encourage cooperation and collaboration among the three constituencies.

The working paper can be found at https://catholicarchives.bc.edu along with the video recordings of conference presentations.

As ongoing dialogue is critical to this initiative; a Google group, Archival Resources for Catholic Collections (ARCC), has been formed to facilitate connection among the three primary constituencies. Please email

archivalrcc@gmail.com if you wish to join the conversation.

The working group thanks all the attendees and presenters that made the Boston College Conference a wonderful experience. We also extend a special thank you to the Reverend William P. Leahy, SJ, President of Boston College who made this important gathering possible.