The Catholic Archivists Group, hosted a four-day conference this week in St. Albert for English speaking delegates from across the country.
This was the ninth annual meeting for the group, whose members take turns hosting their conferences in eastern and western Canada.
Most of the 40 delegates stayed at the Star of the North Retreat Centre on Mission Hill. They toured the site, including a visit to Father Lacombe’s chapel and crypt and the cemetery. They also made side trips to Lac Ste. Anne as well as to St. Joseph Seminary and Newman College.
“This gave them an opportunity to discover the history of the beginning of the Catholic Church in Alberta,” said Eloi DeGrace, who planned the events.
DeGrace, who is retired, was an archivist for the Catholic Archdiocese in Edmonton. He explained that every diocese keeps its own archives.
“Unlike other churches, there isn’t one central body. Each diocese is separately incorporated,” he said.
The delegates listened to presentations by Allison Freake, from the provincial archives, whose specialty is conservation and restoration of paper and fabrics. Knowledge about modern preservation techniques is vital, DeGrace said.
“We all have all kinds of paper in our church archives. In addition, there are special materials, for example in our vestments and all kinds of linen,” DeGrace said.
Archivist Debby Shoctor, from the Jewish Archives and Historical Society of Edmonton was also making a presentation, DeGrace said.
“It’s another opportunity to share information,” he said.
Diane Lamoureux, national archives co-ordinator for the Oblates, explained that a national conference such as this is becoming more important as modern technology and storage information becomes available. In addition, many regions across the country now have lay archivists within their diocese.
“I work for the Oblates and most of our records are in the provincial archives but that isn’t the case in many other places. Now, especially for lay archivists, it’s important to make the contacts,” Lamoureux said.
