Women Religious Archives Collaborative

So The Stories Can Be Told…

The Women Religious Archives Collaborative (WRAC) Heritage Center in Cleveland, Ohio will be a place of study and celebration. Housing the archives of over 75 congregations of women religious in a state-of-the art facility, WRAC will make them accessible for research in person and online. It will also present public exhibits and events, and interactive digital programs, that honor the unique contributions of women religious to their communities and the country.

44 Members and Growing!

WRAC will hold the history of Catholic sisters from across the United States and Canada.

Explore our interactive map and see where our member congregations are located!

“You can’t adequately tell the history of the United States without including the contributions of Catholic Sisters.”

– Susan Durkin, OSU, Executive Director, WRAC

Serving Those Who Served Us

Meeting Congregations’ Needs

61%

of congregations lack professional archivists

39%

need to relocate their archives in the next 10 years

47%

of communities don’t have a long-term plan for their archival collections

81%

of women religious are 70+ years old

Sources: Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate study, Georgetown University, 2022; National Religious Retirement Office study, 2020

Help Write the Next Chapter

Just as they were there for us, women religious need us now as they work to ensure their legacies. Please donate today and become a Founding Donor of the WRAC Heritage Center. Your gift will help preserve and celebrate the important contributions of women religious.

The state-of-the-art, $22 million center will secure the archival collections of over 40 congregations, reducing the financial burden on each; make archives available for study by students, academics, and family members; and share the remarkable stories they contain with the public—in person and online.

Thank you for your support!