The rich archival heritage of the Sisters of Saint Anne

"These are extraordinary archives that we get," says Karine Foisy, of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Archives Center. The Sisters of St. Anne, a community of up to 3,000 nuns, donate the equivalent of nearly half a kilometer of documents and photographs. Suddenly, the Vaudreuil-Soulanges archives double the number of historical pieces they must watch over, at a time when this religious community, like the others, is experiencing twilight.

"It is sometimes difficult for people to understand the immense value of such documents," explains Hélène Élément, the archivist of the Sisters of Sainte-Anne. “We now talk a lot about the importance of preserving old buildings in Quebec. But preserving the documents that allow us to explain all of society - including the buildings we care about - is even more urgent! When will Quebec society take care of it? "

A good distance away, archivist Karine Foisy, who is also the president of the Network of archival services of Quebec (RAQ), holds the same speech. "In Quebec, we forget the archival heritage, which is in a much worse state than the built heritage", she maintains.

Read Le Devoir article, by Jean-François Nadeau