Religious archives featured in the National Catholic Reporter

On November 10, 2015, the National Catholic Reporter published
"A historical treasure trove: Social justice tradition runs through Catholic archives," a discussion of the conference "Catholic Archives in the Digital Age: A Conference for Archivists and Teachers" held Oct. 8-9 at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Malachy McCarthy, Province Archivist for the Claretian Missionaries U.S.A. Province and CARA member, attended the conference and was interviewed about the importance of religious archives in teaching about social history. Other archives mentioned in the column are Daughters of Charity, Marquette University, and Avila University.

You can find the article at NCR's website.

2015 CARA Fall Meeting held at Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Entry sign for the Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 

On November 6, 2015, CARA members gathered at the Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, for their annual Fall Meeting.

Stained glass in the lobby of the Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

As stated on their website, the Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America preserve, protect and make accessible the records of the ELCA, its predecessor church bodies, inter-Lutheran agencies and prominent leaders of the church. Working with the archives of the 65 synods and nine regions of the ELCA, the ELCA Archives serves historians, congregations, synods, genealogists and others interested in Lutheran history by providing resources and answering questions.

Joel Thoreson, Archivist for Management, Reference, and Technology, welcomed CARA members and led a tour of the archives, which occupies a building formerly used by a printing company.

The ELCA Archives collections storage space features high ceilings and tall shelving units

ELCA Archivist Joel Thoreson leads a tour of the collections storage space

Joel estimates that the archives holds 15,000 linear feet of material in various formats including books, artwork, documents, films, photographs, and artifacts. For those who are unable to visit the archives in person, Joel and his staff offer an online catalogue to aid researchers in finding the materials that they need. 

After the tour concluded, CARA members and Joel headed to a nearby Lou Malnati's for pizza and fellowship. Thank you to Joel Thoreson and his staff for a great Fall Meeting!

2016 Conference on the History of Women Religious; Pauline A. Money Collection at University of Dayton

Conference on the History of Women Religious (CHWR) has announced that its tenth triennial conference will take place June 26-29, 2016 at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California.

The theme of the meeting is “Whither Women Religious: Analysing the Past, Studying the Present, Imagining the Future,” and a draft of the program can be found on the CHWR website. Registration will be available in early 2016.

-------

For those interested in the fashions of women religious, the website of the Pauline A. Money Collection at University of Dayton is worth a visit. 

The Pauline A. Money Collection displays dolls dressed as nuns from religious orders around the world. Ms. Money, a UD alumna, spent many years building the collection as a way to preserve an important and visual aspect of Catholic history. Some reproductions were created by the orders' sisters, some show changes in an order's habit over time, and some carry the name of the sister who dressed them. This unique collection began with 108 dolls donated by Ms. Money. The collection continues to grow with donations from private individuals or religious orders and is an important part of the University of Dayton Libraries' US Catholic Collection.

Doll wearing habit worn by Eucharistic Missionaries of 

Saint Dominic. Photo courtesy of Roesch Library at the University of Dayton.

Thanks to Malachy McCarthy and Patricia Carroll for sharing these news items.