The Women’s Religious Archives Collaborative announced last year that it would construct a Heritage Center in Cleveland to preserve and celebrate the unique histories and contributions of Catholic sisters. The collaborative plans to break ground in April for the facility, which will be the first independent heritage center in the country for women religious.
WRAC is a nonprofit organization launched in 2022 by a collaboration of Catholic sisters. It has grown to include 41 congregations of Catholic sisters across the United States and Canada. The new structure will have space to house the collections of more than 75 congregations. Collections from member communities will be preserved at the center and professionally managed by trained archivists. The history within the archives will be made available through research, programming and exhibitions.
The 30,000-square-foot facility will be constructed on E. 22nd Street in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood, an area where sisters have served since 1865. WRAC is working with Bostwick Design Partners and Regency Construction to design and build the facility. Completion of the building is anticipated in December 2026. Approximately $14 million has been raised to date for the building, and WRAC is actively fundraising to complete its capital campaign goal of $24 million.
WRAC looks forward to the center being an asset to the Cleveland community. It will be a dynamic space open to the public for research and programming, both in person and virtually. The center also will welcome visitors to an exhibit space sharing the stories of Catholic sisters since their arrival in the United States in 1727. WRAC plans for the center to become an educational destination where schools, parishes and families can come to learn about the impact of sisters locally and nationally.
“As members of Catholic sisters’ congregations grow older and decline in number, hundreds of years of their histories are at risk of being lost,” said Ursuline Sister Susan Durkin, WRAC executive director. “These women and their forbearers have made immeasurable contributions to our communities and our nation, as leaders in spiritual formation, education, health care, social service and justice efforts. The need to preserve their archival collections and the histories they represent for future generations has become increasingly urgent.”
Sister Durkin said the facility will be a vibrant local presence, and its central location and website presence will facilitate visits from scholars, researchers and genealogists throughout the country.
This joint undertaking would honor the past accomplishments of women religious while also inspiring future generations to think, dream and serve in response to the needs and challenges of their time, Sister Durkin said. She will be speaking about WRAC and its significance at the upcoming First Friday Club of Cleveland luncheon on April 3. To learn more about WRAC, click here. Details on the April 3 program can be found here.
Among the congregations whose archives will be cared for in perpetuity by WRAC are the Carmelite Sisters of Cleveland; the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville; the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland; the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament; Sisters of the Precious Blood; Sisters of the Humility of Mary; the Ursuline Sisters of Cincinnati; the Loretto Community; Sisters of the Holy Spirit; Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis; Sisters of St. Francis; Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine; Sisters of St. Francis (Clinton, Iowa); Sisters of St. Francis (Tiffin, Ohio) and the Ursuline Sisters of Toledo, Ohio; Benedictine Sisters of Erie; the Benedictine Monastic Congregation of St. Gertrude and member monasteries. A full list of member congregations can be found here.