Mémoire de congrégations et communautés religieuses fondées au XXe siècle : leurs rapports aux archives du fondateur ou de la fondatrice

Current French religious history has largely turned a blind eye on the archives produced and kept by religious institutes. These archives represent, however, an important portion of ecclesiastical sources and have been subject to analysis by university and professional research organizations. The documents of a religious founder are particularly precious for contemporary Catholic religious institutes because they represent a whole social and spiritual environment. Such documents are particularly likely to participate in the construction of a religious institute's memory, since a foundation, for religious brothers or sisters, transcends the mere historical context. This studies shows that certains religious institute have adopted a different perception of their archives and particularly of these of their founder, with almost no relationship to the historical domain. The relationship thus created with the founder’s spiritual heritage differs according to the religious institute's objectives. By contrast, whatever the religious institute, the type of relationship becomes evident through the material and place of conservation, as well as by the treatment reserved for the archives and the discourse of the religious brothers or sisters.

UFR de Lettres, Langues et Sciences Humaines