Boston College is planning to construct a Catholic Religious Archives (CRA) facility that will connect to the Theology and Ministry Library on the Brighton Campus.
The college says preliminary site work on the two-story, 44,000 square-foot building begins this month; the anticipated completion date is June 2026.
The CRA will store archival records of Catholic congregations and religious orders that have ceased or are planning to cease operations.
The facility, privately funded by donors, will be built on the north side of the Theology and Ministry Library. It will include an internal receiving area and a holding room for collected materials and will use the library’s research reading room and available space for processing collections. The buildings will be linked by a one-story connector.
Consisting of 100,000 linear feet of storage space, the CRA will also house artwork from religious sources in both the United States and Canada.
“The Catholic Religious Archives will host material that is integral to American history and the history of the Catholic Church in North America,” said University Librarian Tom Wall. “We are looking to honor the contributions of these religious orders and to preserve their legacies."
The architect is Shepley Bulfinch, and the builder is Suffolk Construction.
