Women Religious Archives Collaborative breaks ground for new facility
Northeast Ohio Catholic Magazine
September/October 2025
STORY AND PHOTO BY CAROL KOVACH
Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost blessed the ground where the new Women’s Religious Archives Collaborative facility is rising at 2490 E. 22nd St., in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood, during the groundbreaking ceremony on July 22. The building is expected to open in spring 2027. Sister Susan Durkin, OSU is executive director of WRAC.
Forty-five religious congregations of Catholic sisters from across the United States — including more than a dozen states — and Canada are part of the nonprofit WRAC. It was incorporated in 2022 to build one of four collaborative repositories in the country that will hold the archives of Catholic sisters. The facility can accommodate the archives of up to 75 congregations.
The state-of-the-art WRAC heritage center will have space for research, public programming, exhibitions and meetings; a temperature-controlled and professionally managed vault to store collections; equipment and space for processing, conserving and digitizing archival materials. Its location is close to many colleges, universities, museums and libraries.
WRAC has raised more than $20 million towards its $24 million goal to build the heritage center. Funding is primarily from the participating congregations of Catholic sisters. Fundraising continues, Sister Durkin said, with the public invited to help close the gap and ensure there are endowment funds to keep the facility operating into the future.
LEARN MORE
Visit archivescollaborative.org, email [email protected] or call 216.287.5176 for more information on WRAC, including sisters’ stories and construction updates.