On 22 April 2024, the vast majority of the very extensive central archives of the Congregation of Brothers CMM was transferred to the Heritage Centre Dutch Monastic Life in Sint Agatha. A small portion will remain in Tilburg for a while to be prepared for the Heritage Centre.
In more than 175 years, the Congregation of Brothers CMM has built up a rich history and extensive archives. With the decreasing number of brothers in the Netherlands, and the plan to move the Generalate to a smaller building in the future, it is not feasible to keep these archives under our own management and in our own premises.
In recent years, under the leadership of archivist Rien Vissers and with the help of volunteers, much has been done to ensure that the brothers’ archives are well preserved, efficiently organised and meet modern archival standards. These activities include the merging of various archives, such as, for example, the archives of the Dutch and Belgian provinces and those of various brother houses; the removal of duplicate documents; the preparation of inventories; and the reliable preservation of archival materials.
Many people are interested in CMM’s archives. Research was conducted in the fields of religious history, educational history, regional history, photographic history and art history. Several dissertations and books based on the material in the archives were published. Of course, the archives are also of great importance to our own community. In recent years, several books on the history of the brothers have been published, such as those by archivist Rien Vissers and study secretary Charles van Leeuwen, as well as many articles in the Magazine Brothers CMM and in other journals.
In Sint Agatha, the archives remain accessible to brothers and staff and – on request – also for research by third parties.
- Share this story
-
-
-
-
