The Sisters of the Holy Cross, alongside eight other female religious communities, held a groundbreaking ceremony on July 26 to commemorate the new Heritage and Research Center (HARC). The construction includes the renovation of the area previously known as the Welcome Center, located next to The Avenue, and additional expansion of the original building.
According to a press release from the Sisters of the Holy Cross, “HARC aims to showcase the impact of women religious from various congregations who founded and expanded institutions of education, health care and public outreach, laying the groundwork for development in these fields across the United States.”
A project that was first conceived of in 2018, the new 12,000-square-foot facility will include artifact exhibits, archival preservation and digitization, learning rooms and a climate-controlled vault to protect the various congregations’ archives. Dialogue sessions and lectures will also be offered after the completion of the center.
A completion date for the HARC has not been released.
All resources, scholarship and research will be available to the tri-campus to learn more about the history of these congregations and their contribution to the communities they serve.
“When complete, the new facility will provide great research opportunities for our faculty and students. We look forward to the completion of this transformative initiative and the academic enrichment it will bring to our campus,” vice president for mission Julianne Wallace wrote.
The eight other communities associated with this project include the Ladysmith Servite Sisters from Ladysmith, Wisconsin; Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters from Huntington, Indiana; Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Dubuque, Iowa; Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross from Merrill, Wisconsin; Congregation of Sisters of Saint Agnes from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross from Green Bay, Wisconsin; Sisters of St. Casimir from Chicago and Sisters of the Most Precious Blood from O’Fallon, Missouri.
According to an article on the Saint Mary's College website, HARC will operate independently from the participating communities, complete with future curators and archivists and an executive director. However, the site will share a technology platform with three other archival hubs, Boston College, Santa Clara University, and Clevand, Ohio, which will offer access to all four repositories for users.
The platform is based on the National Archives Project for Women Religious, an initiative “to collect and preserve in perpetuity the recorded history and artifacts of congregations of women religious in the United States” by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), according to their website.
“Together, these resources can elevate awareness of the work of Catholic sisters, past and present, and, hopefully, inspire future leaders, women religious, and the public to act on behalf of people who are underrepresented,” the press release from the Sisters of the Holy Cross said.
