Catholic Religious Communities Archive

The Catholic Religious Communities Archive (CRCA) is an initiative of the John M. Kelly Library’s Special Collections: Archives and Rare Books dedicated to the preservation, stewardship, and responsible management of the records of Catholic religious communities in Canada. Established to support the long-term care of archival collections of enduring value, the CRCA brings together the records of religious institutes and related organizations whose histories have shaped Catholic life and contributed significantly to the educational, social, cultural, and spiritual development of communities in Canada and beyond.

Through the CRCA, the Kelly Library works in partnership with religious communities to ensure that these records are preserved within a professional archival environment and made available, where appropriate, for research, teaching, and learning. In doing so, the CRCA supports not only the safeguarding of documentary heritage, but also its continued use and interpretation. By preserving and providing access to these materials, the CRCA helps sustain a deeper understanding of the lives, works, and legacies of Catholic religious communities and of their continuing significance in Canadian history.

Founding Donations

The CRCA builds on transformative founding donations from the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society, the Sisters of Service, the Loretto Sisters (IBVM), the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie, and the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. Together, these collections span more than 1,200 linear metres and represent a rich and multifaceted documentary heritage.

Recognizing Catholic Contributions

The CRCA preserves rare and unique primary sources documenting the vital contributions of Catholic religious communities in education, health care, social services, international mission, and social justice. Open to all, the CRCA supports academic study, personal inquiry, and public understanding through reading room access, course-integrated instruction, exhibitions, lectures, and outreach activities that engage students, faculty, donor communities, and independent researchers alike.

Stewardship and Scholarship

As one of few initiatives of its kind in North America, the CRCA reflects St. Michael’s commitment to stewardship, scholarship, and service. Its development helps ensure that these significant collections remain in Toronto, preserved within a vibrant academic setting where they can continue to inform research, teaching, and community engagement for generations to come.

The mandate of the Catholic Religious Communities Archive is to preserve and steward the archival records of Catholic religious communities in Canada and to support their long-term care, responsible management, and appropriate use.

In support of this mandate, the CRCA seeks to:

  • Preserve records of enduring value created and accumulated by Catholic religious communities
  • Provide professional archival stewardship, including appraisal, arrangement, description, preservation, and access
  • Support appropriate research use in accordance with donor agreements, privacy obligations, and access restrictions
  • Contribute to teaching, learning, and scholarship through the responsible use of archival materials
  • Help sustain understanding of the historical and ongoing contributions of Catholic religious communities in Canada

Holdings within the Catholic Religious Communities Archive

Scarboro Missions, formally the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society, is a society of Canadian Roman Catholic priests dedicated to mission work in Canada and abroad. The Society was founded in Almonte, Ontario, in 1918 by Monsignor John Mary Fraser as the China Mission College, established to train and send priests to China. After moving to Scarborough, Ontario, in 1921, it became the St. Francis Xavier China Mission Seminary. With Vatican approval of the Society’s constitutions in 1940, it became the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society.

Political and military upheaval in China, including the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Second World War, and the Communist Revolution, led Scarboro Missions to establish ministries elsewhere, beginning in the Dominican Republic in 1943. Over time, the Society expanded its mission work across Asia, Africa, and Central and South America.

The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) had a profound effect on the Society’s work. Alongside traditional missionary activity, Scarboro Missions became increasingly engaged in social and economic justice, ecumenism, and interfaith dialogue, especially in the Toronto area. Beginning in 1974, the Society also welcomed lay missionaries, including both single people and married couples.

In November 2017, the Society announced that, owing to aging and declining membership, it would no longer accept new candidates to the priesthood or lay missionary program.

Learn more about the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society fonds on Discover Archives.

The Scarboro Foreign Mission Society also maintains a website. The SFMS records arrived at the Kelly Library in July 2023.

The Sisters of Service are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in Toronto on August 15, 1922, to serve newcomers to Canada and bring the Church to rural and underserved communities.

Distinct from many women’s religious communities of the period, the Sisters of Service wore simple grey dress and hats rather than traditional habits, and lived in small community houses rather than large convents. This flexible model supported their work as a domestic missionary community and enabled them to adapt more readily to the needs of the communities they served. Their motto, I Have Come to Serve, reflected a charism expressed in many forms of ministry across Canada.

In Western Canada, the Sisters worked as teachers, nurses, and social workers. In larger cities, they operated residences for working women, especially newly arrived immigrant women. They also maintained a presence at Pier 21 in Halifax, assisting newcomers as they transitioned from the port to communities across the country. Their ministry also included catechetical instruction through correspondence schools and summer vacation schools.

In 2012, after deciding to accept no new applicants to the novitiate, the Sisters entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, who assumed responsibility for their administration. Learn more about the Sisters of Service fonds on Discover Archives.

The Sisters of Service also maintain a website. The SOS records arrived at the Kelly Library in May 2024.

Contact Us

Telephone: +1 (416) 926-2314

Email: specialcollections.kellylibrary@utoronto.ca

Elizabeth Comper Special Collections Reading Room

John M. Kelly Library

Appointments are required.

Before visiting, you are warmly encouraged to review our Researcher Guidelines. Rare materials damage easily but if well-treated, they can last many generations and, in some cases, hundreds of years.