Soon, the histories of thousands of American Catholic women religious will be available to researchers and the public at a new repository on the campus of Saint Mary’s College.
On July 26, 2024, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Heritage and Research Center (HARC) in Notre Dame, Indiana. The 12,000-square-foot facility will house the archives of at least nine women’s congregations, highlighting their varied and profound contributions to society.
HARC will feature storytelling, artifact exhibits, archival preservation, and digitization. Learning rooms, dialogue sessions, and classes will also share the lives and histories of women religious. In partnership with congregations, HARC programming will elevate awareness of the impact of women religious who founded and expanded institutions of education, health care and public outreach, laying the groundwork for development in these fields across the United States. HARC will also showcase sisters’ models of ministry, leadership, and organization as well as their approaches to community development and advancing social justice.
The center’s resources will be accessible to researchers in the tri-campus community; members of the three Holy Cross institutions of Saint Mary’s College, University of Notre Dame, and Holy Cross College will all have access to the rich resources of participating congregations.
Participating congregations
HARC members are located throughout the Midwest and include:
Ladysmith Servite Sisters (Sister Servants of Mary)
Ladysmith, Wisconsin
Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters
Huntington, Indiana
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dubuque, Iowa
Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross
Merrill, Wisconsin
Sisters of Saint Agnes
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Sisters of St. Casimir
Chicago, Illinois
Sisters of the Holy Cross
Notre Dame, Indiana
Sisters of the Most Precious Blood
O’Fallon, Missouri
This announcement, adapted from a news release at cscsisters.org, appears in the fall 2024 issue of the American Catholic Studies Newsletter.