Sisters of Charity Federation Archives

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth

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When the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth became a Pontifical Institute in 1910, their new Constitutions established the office of Secretary General. Sister Marie Menard was the first to hold this office. Among her record-keeping responsibilities was the preservation of local church and community history. This responsibility continued under her successors until, in 1969, the first Archival Center was established and Sister Mary Ramona Mattingly was appointed as archivist.

The Archival Center is the official repository for all documents, records and photographs which pertain to the internal development of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregation, the personal histories of individual members, and the history of the apostolic ministries of the Congregation, including noteworthy facts about the persons served. Some records related to the Church and to national, state and local history, though not directly related to official Community history are retained for their general historic and informational value. The Archival Center is responsible for the preservation of these materials and for making them available to researchers.

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Mother Catherine Spalding, a founding leader of the new religious community in the new Catholic diocese of Kentucky, used this writing desk, ca. 1840-1860.
Her peers so respected her that Sister Catherine was consistently reelected to six-year terms, despite giving Fr. David and Bishop Flaget “convincing reasons” why she should not retain leadership for life. Other Sisters collaborated with her Council, however, and numerous clergy and lay persons worked to establish the three main ministries that Kentuckians lacked.
The desk is displayed in Heritage Hall, O'Connell Hall, on the campus at Nazareth, Kentucky.

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Heritage Hall, the Congregation's interpretive museum established in 1988, supplements the holdings in the Archival Center with its display of artifacts,  memorabilia and audiovisual materials documenting the heritage of the Congregation.