Mission of the Carondelet Consolidated Archives
The Carondelet Consolidated Archives of the Sisters of the St. Joseph of Carondelet preserves and shares the history, spirit and memory of the congregation. The purpose of the archives is to identify, collect, arrange, preserve and make available to qualified researchers official and non-current administrative records and other historical materials relating to the governance, ministries and members of the congregation.
Are you looking for information for a particular sister? Please visit our Find A Sister page to request information.
History of the Carondelet Consolidated Archives
In 2018, our congregation, along with the congregational and province archivists, consolidated their archives into one physical location. Prior to that, each province and vice province maintained their own separate collections. Though the conversation about consolidation began in 1994, the 2013 Congregational Chapter (a meeting held every six years during which delegates discern directives for the congregation) called the sisters to deepen communion and act in new ways as one congregation. This call strengthened the desire to consolidate. The final decision was made in the spring of 2017, and construction began in January 2018.
The archives of the congregational offices moved first to the St. Louis Province archives building at the Carondelet Motherhouse in 2017. After renovating another space in the archives building into a cold room, the congregation brought in the Albany, Los Angeles and Hawai`i archives in August 2018. Each collection is housed under one roof but stored separately.
The St. Paul Province did not transfer its archives to the Carondelet Consolidated Archives, as their holdings contain locally rich information better suited to remain physically available in St. Paul. You can find out more about the St. Paul Province Archives on their website.
Researchers and access to the archives
The Carondelet Consolidated Archives are located in St. Louis, Missouri, on the grounds of the St. Louis Province Motherhouse at 6400 Minnesota Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63111.
On-site research is available by appointment only, Monday through Friday.
For requests where the researcher is not able to visit the archives in person to conduct their research, archives staff will make every effort to perform due diligence in researching the topic on their behalf, as time permits, but usually within two weeks. Archives staff will spend no more than one hour conducting research on behalf of another person, and there is a limit on the number of copies or scans they can make. For more involved and time-consuming requests, researchers will be notified that they should consider scheduling a future visit to thoroughly browse through any relevant collections in person. Our finding aids and databases below are not an inclusive representation of the entire archive.
Please note that we are a fragrance-free facility. Please refrain from using perfume, cologne, fragranced laundry detergents, dryer sheets or any other kind of fragranced personal care products (e.g. lotion, deodorant and hair care products) on the day of your visit. A fragrance-free space increases accessibility and supports the inclusion of those with allergies or sensitivities to fragrances and/or chemicals.
To schedule an appointment or request access to materials, please review our Access Policy and submit a user agreement.
Finding aid
You can browse our collections by province or subject via our Carondelet Consolidated Archives Finding Aid. To easily search a PDF document, use Ctrl+F to bring up a search field.
Digital Collections
Visit our Internet Archive site to view a selection of our digital collections, including history books and publications. In the future, look for photographs and documents from our archival collections as well.
Featured artifact
Diary of the Trek of the Seven Sisters
In 1870, seven brave sisters trekked from Missouri to Arizona to minister to the dear neighbor. Sister Monica Corrigan kept a diary throughout their harrowing journey over land and sea.
Donate materials to the archives
If you would like to deed a gift to the Carondelet Consolidated Archives, please contact the archivist, who will follow up with you for more information. When ready, please fill out the Deed of Gift form.
Affiliated institutions’ archives
- St. Paul Province Archives in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Avila University Archives & Research Center in Kansas City, Missouri
- Fontbonne University Archives in St. Louis, Missouri
- Mount Saint Mary’s University Archives in Los Angeles, California
- Mount Saint Mary’s University—CSJ Institute in Los Angeles, California
- St. Catherine University Archives in St. Paul, Minnesota
Archives policies
Access policy
Please see our Archive Access Policy and Request Form webpage.
Permission to publish policy
If you would like to use reproductions of items from the Carondelet Consolidated Archives for commercial or personal publication in either electronic or paper format, please contact the archivist, who will follow up with you for more information. When ready, please fill out the Permission to Publish form.
Rights statement
The images featured on this webpage, as well as all webpages of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, come from congregational and provincial holdings. To the best of our knowledge, there are no copyright restrictions associated with these images because they are either in the public domain or the copyright is owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
These images are intended for private use, and we in no way assume liability for any other use of these images. These images must not be altered or manipulated in any way or used for commercial purposes without the express permission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet or the Carondelet Consolidated Archives. When permission is granted, proper credit must be given as follows:
Image courtesy of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet — [Name of] Province collection, Carondelet Consolidated Archives.
Digital collections takedown policy
The Carondelet Consolidated Archives seeks to ensure that it has appropriate rights to provide access to content through our online digital collections. Parties who have questions or concerns about any of our content available online may direct them to the director of the Carondelet Consolidated Archives using our contact form. We will carefully evaluate and respond to each inquiry.
