Annals, annals, and annals!

Thanks in part to Library and Archives Canada’s Documentary Heritage Communities Program, the archives has been able to preserve, arrange, and describe the majority of the annals from the Congregations of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke, Hamilton, and London!

These annals are written logs documenting the day-to-day activities of the Sisters while fulfilling various ministries across Canada and abroad. Many of the annals also include photographs, news clippings, and ephemera from the missions.

The finding aid for the Pembroke annals is available on Archeion, Ontario’s Archival Information Network. Keep an eye on our Archeion page as we work to upload the finding aids for the annals of London and Hamilton.

Saving rolled, taped, and torn archival materials

Rolled materials are of concern to archivists because they become fragile and very difficult to open and view without damage. Tape presents another problem because it defaces an archival item, and cannot be easily removed without damage to the original material. It becomes yellow with age, and may dry out and fall off leaving a sticky residue behind.

We had seven boxes of rolled materials when we consolidated our archives, and so we sought help from our local conservator who is skilled in book and paper repair. She humidified the materials to flatten them. Then she removed the tape from a large map that had been badly torn from being rolled, and removed the sticky residue. After this, she repaired the torn areas using the reversible method we use in archival work, which is applying Japanese mulberry or kozo paper over the tear using wheat paste. This method is safe and should always be used when any material is torn.

Thank you to Jennifer Robertson of Book and Paper Conservation Services in London, Ontario for her expert work and for the photographs.

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  Rolled graphic materials before conservation treatment

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  Graphic materials after conservation treatment

This drawing and photographs were rolled. One photograph had to be removed from the cardboard canister shown in this photo.

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  Rolled and torn map before humidification

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  Rolled and torn map before conservation treatment

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  Detail of rolled and torn map before conservation treatment

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  Rolled map - tape removal

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  Rolled map - adhesive residue removal

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  Map after conservation treatment

This large map was rolled and torn. The map was humidified to flatten it, and then tape was removed, and the torn areas repaired with kozo paper and wheat paste.

Our archives is award winning!

In 2017, our archives won the award for the Archives Association of Ontario Corporate Award. This award is given to organizations, corporations, or agencies of any kind that have been particularly supportive of archives and/or the archival community. Nominees may include:

• Organizations that have provided significant support to the promotion of education, publishing, and/or other professional activities (including mounting of programs on behalf of the archival community, provision of expertise, or direct financial contribution).
• Organizations that have provided significant support to the activities of a particular institution.
• Organizations that have demonstrated imagination or creativity in the use of archives.

In 2021, Mary Grace Kosta, our Congregational Archivist won two awards:

The James J. Talman Award from the Archives Association of Ontario: this award is given to individuals who have demonstrated an outstanding level of imagination and innovation in contributing to the profession, their institution, or the archival community, or who have challenged conventional thinking about archival work. For more information visit: James J. Talman Award

The Sr. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award from the Society of American Archivists: this award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of religious archives. Selection criteria include:

• Involvement and work in the Archivists of Religious Collections Section of the Society of American Archivists;
• Contributions to archival literature that relates to religious archives;
• Participation and leadership in religious archives organizations; and/or
• Evidence of leadership in a specific religious archives.

For more information: Sister M. Claude Lane, O.P., Memorial Award: Mary Grace Kosta - Society of American Archivists

We are proud to be an award winning archives!

American Catholic Historical Association

The American Catholic Historical Association features Hidden Catholic Collections on its website at Hidden Catholic Collections. This is a wonderful way to become familiar with Catholic religious archives.

American Catholic Historical Association

The ACHA, in its own words, is "a conference of scholars, archivists, and teachers of Catholic studies. It is the place where the field of Catholic studies begins." Its goals are to promote the history of the Catholic Church and advance historical scholarship.It's interests lie in the history of the Church, including doctrine, spirituality, and missionary activity, and the history of its relations with civil society and interaction with the intellectual, cultural, social, and political life of the wider society.

The Hidden Catholic Collections series highlights many different religious archives, including the Selma, Alabama Collection in the Sisters of St. Joseph Archive in Rochester, NY, the Archives of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada Province in St. Louis, MO, and the Sisters of the Precious Blood Archives in Dayton, OH.

We are thrilled that our archives has been selected for inclusion in the Hidden Catholic Collections series. Please visit: Hidden Catholic Collections

Catholic Research Resources Alliance

A wonderful site for those interested in the history of women religious can be found at Catholic Research Resources Alliance. Here are some of the resources you will find at this website:

• a description of the Catholic portal with a search box and introductory video The Catholic Portal
• the Catholic News Archive The Catholic News Archive
• subject guides LibGuides at Catholic Research Resources Alliance
• bibliographies, directories and reports Bibliographies, Directories, and Reports

Our consolidated archives can be found on this site as well! We encourage you to visit today, if you are interested in researching the history of women religious.

Archival Resources for Catholic Collections

We are pleased to support the Archival Resources for Catholic Collections (ARCC) organization. The ARCC is dedicated to ensuring the preservation of Roman Catholic archives for future generations. The membership is made up of archivists, religious leaders, and scholars. The ARCC provides support by giving professional advice on the care of archival collections, providing educational opportunities, and serving as a forum for sharing knowledge and resources.

Archival Resources for Catholic Collections

The ARCC has several working groups. The Repository Working Group recently initiated a Symposium Series, and the first webinar is available for view on the ARCC website. This webinar featured archivists from five different types of repositories providing guidance to archivists considering the future disposition of their archive when their communities near completion. The Repository Working Group is planning their second webinar on legal issues when considering seeking a new home for an archive. The Education Working Group is planning to also deliver a series of educational webinars, so make sure to join ARCC to keep on top of all these exciting opportunities.

The ARCC is committed to offering support, guidance, and training to all religious archivists.

Please visit Archival Resources for Catholic Collections to learn more.

The Year of St. Joseph

We are happy to launch the new website for our consolidated archives on the eve of St. Joseph's Day in the Year of St. Joseph. We hope you will keep checking back as we add new content each month!

St. Joseph is our patron saint. St. Joseph was by birth of the royal family of David, but lived as a carpenter. He found Mary pregnant when he married her, and planned to quietly divorce her. However, an angel told him the child was the son of God and conceived by the Holy Spirit, so he took her as his wife. After the visit of the Magi, an angel warned him of violence against the child Jesus by King Herod, and so the family fled to Egypt, returning to Nazareth only after Herod’s death. Along with Mary, he searched for Jesus in Jerusalem and found him in the temple. Joseph died before the crucifixion and his feast is celebrated on March 19, the traditional day of his death. St. Joseph is the patron saint of the universal church, workers, social justice, and of Canada.

Birth of Jesus window

Angel visit to St. Joseph window

Death of St. Joseph window

Dream of St. Joseph window

St. Joseph chapel windows

Birth of Jesus with angels window

Holy Family window

St. Joseph in center of community patrons window

Artistic representations of St. Joseph in our community