The Sisters of Mercy are probably one of the best-known female Catholic congregations, having even entered popular culture; so much so that in 1971 musician and singer Leonard Cohen used their name as a title for one of his songs. Later in 1980 a newly formed rock band also took the name, having been influenced by Cohen’s song. However conflicted anybody might feel about the use of the name in these contexts, it demonstrates the indelible impression that the congregation has made on society in general, in a way that few others have.
With the recent digitization of a small number of archives from the Monastery of the Visitation, an interesting collection of items held within are now available related to the Jesuit missionary Father Law, a convert of the Oxford Movement and his tragic expedition up the Zambesi.
As part of my role with the Catholic Archives Society, I routinely monitor the internet for Catholic archival material being offered for sale and work with relevant repositories to ensure its safe acquisition. In 2023 a bound collection of 19 original manuscript letters from Cardinal Henry Edward Manning to the Rev. Thomas Penyngton Kirkman (1806-1895) appeared for sale -- never previously shared in public. In them Manning discusses his views on philosophy and evolution, his views on Herbert Spencer, and even sketches of his ideas for a solution to Pascal’s Theorem.
Our most recent addition to the NINS Digital Collections is a newly publicized collection of items from the community archives of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, including letters from Cardinals Newman, Wiseman, and Manning, and Father Bede Jarrett, the founder of Blackfriars, Oxford.
“The LORD is with me to the end. LORD, your mercy endures forever. Never forsake the work of your hands! – Psalm 138:8 -- The above verse is one of importance to John Henry Newman. He chose Psalm 138 as the epithet for his younger brother, Charles’s, headstone. Newman’s biographer, Sheridan Gilley, refers to Charles as “the black sheep of the family.”
The National Institute for Newman Studies (NINS) is pleased to announce the ongoing expansion of our digital collections through formal agreements with several institutions in England.
