By CatholicVote | Created at 2025-01-08 17:21:01 | Updated at 2025-01-09 07:50:51
14 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // Boston College is moving forward with plans to build a Catholic Religious Archives (CRA) facility on its Brighton Campus, dedicated to preserving the records and legacies of Catholic religious orders in North America.
The two-story, 44,000-square-foot building, approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency, is expected to be completed by June 2026 and will connect to the Theology and Ministry Library, according to BC News.
The CRA will house records from Catholic congregations and religious orders of men and women that have ceased or are planning to cease operations. In addition to 100,000 linear feet of storage space, the archives will include religious artwork from the United States and Canada.
Boston College aims to curate the facility to be a resource for scholars, researchers, and students examining the Catholic Church’s role in education, health care, and social services.
“The Catholic Religious Archives will host material that is integral to American history and the history of the Catholic Church in North America,” said University Librarian Tom Wall. “We are looking to honor the contributions of these religious orders and to preserve their legacies through professional archival operations and a state-of-the-art facility.”
The CRA will be directed by Thomas P. Lester, former director of the Archdiocese of Boston Archive and Library, and Michael Burns, the founding director of the CRA, who has guided the project’s development.
Privately funded by donors, the CRA will include an internal receiving area, a holding room for collected materials, and shared library facilities for research and processing collections.
