A significant donation of archival materials from the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society to the University of St. Michael’s College will help preserve the order’s history, both local and global, in a permanent home while further cementing the John M. Kelly Library’s as the preeminent location for research into the history of religious communities in Canada.
“The Kelly Library is thrilled to have been entrusted to care for the records of the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society,” says Interim William D. Sharpe Chief Librarian James Roussain. “These important materials, which are textual, photographic, and digital, are a natural fit at St. Mike’s and help the Kelly Library advance its mission as a research centre in Catholic history.”
Approximately 100 linear metres of archival records arrived at the library in August, documenting work done by the organization since its founding in 1918, including material on missions in pre-Cultural Revolution China, Latin American, the Caribbean, Africa, and Canada.
The donation also includes a financial pledge, which will support a contract archivist, as well as the purchase of space-efficient shelving to offer improved access to researchers, ensuring the records are stored in a way that ensures their continued preservation.
The library plans to use the archival contents periodically in exhibitions, with the first exhibit planned for January 2025.
This donation aligns with the mandate of the John M. Kelly Library’s Special Collections and complements existing materials within the Kelly Library’s collections, says Roussain, noting that the Henri J. M. Nouwen Research Archives & Special Collection, also housed at the Kelly Library, is called upon from researchers from around the world.
Recently, the Sisters of Service also reached an agreement with the University to have their archives relocated to the Kelly Library, offering researchers an invaluable view into the Sisters’ work with immigrants to Canada, as well as rural communities in Western Canada.
The archival donation from the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society comes as the order repositions itself. In 2017, with no new vocations on the horizon, the order determined it would wind down over the coming years, with most of its members moving to Presentation Manor, a retirement home for lay and religious in Scarborough, and any vocation inquiries redirected to other communities.
“After we moved from our headquarters on Kingston Road in 2018, the archives were housed temporarily at Presentation Manor, says Fr. David Warren, sfm, Secretary General of the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society. “We are delighted that our archives now have a permanent home and are happy to know that the library will take excellent care of our archives in its Special Collections section. We are even happier to know that our history will be available to researchers and that our photos will be displayed periodically to the public. The Scarboro Foreign Mission Society made a good choice when we placed our archives in the care of St. Michael’s.”
The archival donation follows the Scarboro Foreign Mission’s donation to St. Michael’s to assist the Faculty of Theology in creating its Diploma in Interfaith Dialogue, which launched in 2019.
“The Scarboro Foreign Mission Society is an important friend to St. Michael’s and we are honoured to help carry their mission forward by sharing their charism and their history,” says University President David Sylvester.
Roussain offers thanks to his colleagues in Special Collections for their work on the project, adding, “We look forward to welcoming a new audience to our library to see these unique materials.”
Pictured above: Superior General Fr. Ronald MacDonell, SFM (far right), Vicar General and Treasurer General Fr. John Carten, SFM (far left); Councillor and Secretary General Fr. David Warren, SFM (second from left); Ms. Janet Ainslie, Director of Operations and Chief Financial Officer, Canadian Religious Stewardship; and Ms. Nadine Palmer, Treasurer’s Office Administrator at Scarboro Missions