Developing IBVM (Loreto) Archives Across the Globe

Abstract

Developing IBVM (Loreto) Archives Across the Globe Áine Mc Hugh The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), more commonly known as Loreto, ‘recognises its origins in the religious community founded by Mary Ward at the beginning of the seventeenth century’.1 IBVM, Loreto, as a branch of Mary Ward’s original foundation, owes its existence to a Dublin woman, Frances Teresa Ball, who in 1814 entered religious life with the Institute at the Mickelgate Bar, York, England.2 Frances returned to Dublin in 1821, with the intention of establishing a house of the ‘same’ institute in Ireland, which evolved into IBVM, Loreto.3 Under her direction, the institute began its missionary thrust, expanding across the globe. Mary Ward’s foundation exists worldwide today under the names Congregation Jesu and IBVM, Loreto, and her followers collectively minister in forty-four countries across five continents. The value of archives, as records of enduring value, or ‘significant material concerning the history of the institute, its members and ministries’, is formally recognised as one of the traditions of Mary Ward’s institute.4 IBVM’s mission statement for its global archives policy identifies their purpose as ‘to identify, collect, protect, preserve and make available’ the records of enduring value of the institute.5 The preamble to the IBVM Archives Handbook states that the archives contain the ‘story of the institute and its members, and are a vital part of institute, community and individual memory’. They are ‘unique and irreplaceable’ and record Loreto/Loretto’s unique spirit and common mission and spirituality that binds all Loreto/Loretto Sisters ... [They are] a unique witness to the faithful response of each Sister to her call and are evidence of lives lived in faith and courage. They are a source of inspiration and should be celebrated. However they require protection to ensure their preservation, so that Loreto/Loretto’s vibrant heritage and ongoing story may be shared.6 The policy further states that the archival collection (or IBVM Archives) Áine Mc Hugh Studies • volume 107 • number 427 326 consists of the institute archives (Central Archives) and ten province archives, each administered by a province archivist, who is responsible for the collection, protection, preservation and making available of the records of the administration, governance, membership and activities of the institute.7 The purpose and function of the archives is clearly defined in the IBVM directory and the archives policy document. However, as a global collection, there are variations in the resources available for the management of the archives within each province, differing emphasis placed on their value and discrepancies in the access to education and training for the appointed archivists. The institute archivist has a responsibility to guide and advise the provincial archivists in their work, but until relatively recently there was no official framework to support this. In 2010, the first professional (and lay) archivist was employed and in 2012 she was subsequently appointed institute and Irish province archivist. This reflected an increasing awareness amongst those in leadership of the importance of the archives as a repository of institute history and identity. It facilitated the expansion of the role of archivist, as well as engagement by the institute archivists with their wider remit in guiding and supporting colleagues at provincial level. Former institute archivists, Sr Paula Doolin IBVM and Sr Kathleen Fitzgerald IBVM, had recognised the need for a qualified archivist and improved relationships between provincial archivists. In spite of their best efforts, by 2010 the relationship between the provincial archivists, who generally did not know one another and had never met, was distant and characterised by a certain wariness. Sr Kathleen was passionate about connecting with this global network of colleagues, recognising the importance of support and encouragement in enabling and assisting others to engage with their responsibilities.8 In 2011 the first tentative steps towards a warmer relationship and a network of provincial archivists were undertaken with the production of a Directory of Province and Regional Archivists. Each archivist was invited to contribute a brief biography and photograph for the directory, which was then circulated amongst the archivists. It was a small starting point, but an important one. The ice was broken, and there followed...