Archival and Manuscript Collections

L’Arche International (also known as International Federation of L’Arche or simply L’Arche) is a network of communities across the world in which people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together. It was founded by Jean Vanier in 1964 and today there are 131 L’Arche communities in over 30 countries. L’Arche also offers educational programs and retreats, many that were hosted by Jean Vanier. 

This collection contains recordings of events hosted by, and involving members of, l’Arche International/Internationale between 1968 and 1992. Materials include audio cassettes, videocassettes, film reels and audio reels. Much of the material features recordings created at L’Arche retreats internationally. In addition to Vanier, prominent speakers featured at retreats include Henri Nouwen, Joe Egan, Robert Larouche and Sue Mosteller. The collection was maintained by the L’Arche Daybreak community of Richmond Hill, ON until it was donated to the Archival and Manuscript Collections of the Kelly Library beginning in 2004. 

Learn more about the L’Arche International/L’Arche Internationale Audiovisual Collection on Discover Archives

The L’Arche Trosly-Breuil fonds is an audiovisual collection consisting of recordings of lectures and retreats given by Henri Nouwen while living at L’Arche Trosly-Breuil, France. The fonds also includes photographs of L’Arche Trosly-Breuil and individuals associated with L’Arche. 

L’Arche Trosly-Breuil was the first of the L’Arche International communities, located in Trosly-Breuil, France and created by Jean Vanier in 1964. It began when Vanier became increasingly aware of the difficulties that individuals with developmental disabilities face through his connections with Father Thomas Philippe. Vanier began his work when he took two men, Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux, out of an institution and invited them to live with him in his home in Trosly-Breuil and named their home L’Arche or “The Ark.” 

At L’Arche , individuals with intellectual disabilities, called core members, live with assistants in group homes. As a community, L’Arche supports personal growth and creativity, all while developing strong friendships and support groups between community members. L’Arche Trosly-Breuil was the first of the L’Arche communities, which have now expanded worldwide. 

Henri Nouwen was a close friend of Jean Vanier and was invited to join the L’Arche Trosly-Breuil. He was an active member of their community from August 1985 to May 1986. His experiences at Trosly-Breuil are published in his work The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey (Doubleday, 1988). 

The fonds consists of audio recordings of lectures and retreats given by Nouwen while at Trosly-Breuil between 1985 and 1986 as well as one compact disc of photographs from 1985-2008. The compact disc material was transferred to the Kelly Library Archival and Manuscripts Collections by Sue Mosteller in March 2009. The audio cassette material was gathered by Simone Landrien at L’Arche Trosly-Breuil. These materials were then given to Sue Mosteller, who transferred this material on February 9, 2010. 

No Finding Guide is available at this time. Series and item level descriptions are available in the Archives through the in-house archival database. 

The L’Arche Daybreak fonds consists of organizational, administrative and community records collected by L’Arche Daybreak between 1969 and 2009 before transfer to the Archival and Manuscript Collection at the Kelly Library in 2007. 

At L’Arche Daybreak, individuals with intellectual disabilities, called core members, live with assistants at several group homes where they are encouraged to aid in the daily tasks of cooking, cleaning and shopping while developing strong bonds of friendship and mutual support with community members. In addition to providing support for community members, L’Arche Daybreak offers retreats and educational programs that  educate others about the goals and work of L’Arche Daybreak and promote a message of diversity and unity. Today, L’Arche Daybreak includes eight homes  in Richmond Hill, Ontario. L’Arche Daybreak was founded in 1969 and is the oldest L’Arche community in North America. 

Learn more about the L’Arche Daybreak fonds on Discover Archives

The Faith and Sharing Federation/Foi et Partage is a bilingual Catholic organization with a mandate to deepen and foster the experience of Christian community through weeklong retreats. The first retreat was held in Marylake, Ontario in 1968 and led by Jean Vanier, internationally renowned spiritual writer and leader and founder of other Catholic organizations, including Faith and Light and L’Arche. 

The principal function of the Faith and Sharing Federation is to organize annual retreats however they are also active through local communities. Each local community is part of a region which mirrors the boundaries of Catholic dioceses. There are seven regions in North America. Region 7 includes several communities in the United States. The activities of the local communities include regular gatherings for prayer and mutual support and the organization of regional meetings. 

A retreat is usually a five- or seven-day excursion to a retreat centre or church that consists of time for personal prayer, a presentation based on biblical scripture and group meetings where people can share their experiences. Mediation, relaxation and silence are a primary focus of the retreats; music and song are also considered important and there is often a theme song chosen for a retreat. There are “happenings” where participation in dancing, singing or parlour games is encouraged, followed by a sharing of experiences by groups or individuals about the retreat through poems, sketches, imitations, and other forms of expression. A celebration of forgiveness is often followed by a feast known as the “celebration of Life.” The Eucharist is a central activity of the retreats. One of the aims of the retreats is to bring together a cross-section of people with an emphasis on those who are marginalized in society. Each retreat usually consists of priests, bishops, people with disabilities, members of religious orders and laity. The retreats take place throughout Canada and North America. Mini-retreats and weekends are also organized.  

Faith and Sharing in North America is based in Ottawa, Ontario, which administers to local chapters throughout Canada as well as several communities in the United States. 

Learn more about the Faith and Sharing Federation fonds on Discover Archives

The Zola Research Program, also known as Le Programme de recherché sur Zola et le Naturalisme or Programme Zola, was a 20-year project to collect, organize and publish the letters of Émile Zola. The Program was a joint effort between one team based in the University of Toronto’s Department of French, and one in Paris made up of researchers from an array of French cultural institutions. The first of ten volumes of the Émile Zola Correspondance series was published in 1978. Subsequent volumes were published approximately 18 months apart until the final volume was published in 1995. 

The Zola Research Program fonds consists of photocopies of letters, postcards, telegrams and other correspondence by and to Zola. Matters both personal and professional are discussed in the letters. Each letter is accompanied by contextual information about individuals mentioned therein and historical background. The fonds also consist of materials documenting the Zola Research Program itself. Books collected throughout the course of the Program are the basis for the Émile Zola Collection in the Rare Book Collection of Kelly Library. This collection is the largest repository of Zola letters available in North America and open to the public. 

Learn more about the Zola Research Program fonds on Discover Archives

Sheila Martin Watson (nee Doherty) was a Canadian author, teacher and professor of English, living between 1909 and 1998. Watson is best known for her novel The Double Hook, published in 1959 and often credited as the first modernist Canadian novel. She also wrote Deep Hollow Creek, published in 1992 and nominated for the Governor General’s Award for best new fiction that year. Watson wrote several collections of short stories and co-founded the literary magazine White Pelican. 

The Sheila Watson fonds consist of journals, literary manuscripts, correspondence, teaching and student materials, reference materials, business and financial records, as well as Watson’s personal photographs and objects. The fonds also includes collections of correspondence purchased and preserved by Watson for the purpose of her doctoral thesis and personal interest in the painter and author Wyndham Lewis. Letters in the collection include correspondence with Marshall McLuhan, Michael Ondaatje, bpNichol, Norman Yates and Wilfred Watson. Hand-written journals provide insight into the author’s emotions, reading habits and personal struggles throughout her life. 

White Pelican was an arts journal co-founded by Watson with her colleagues at the University of Alberta. Watson took a leading role, managing the finances, creating proofs and editing many of the issues herself. Materials in the White Pelican sous-fonds include financial records, printed proofs and correspondence between Watson and journal contributors. 

Learn more about the Sheila Watson fonds on Discover Archives  

The Collection Théâtrale André Antoine is a collection of material related to 19th and early 20th century French theatre. The material was received in the Spring of 2010 from Professor Marilyn Kidd of the University of Western Ontario on behalf of Professor James B. Sanders, a 19th and 20th century theatre specialist who spent his career at the University of Western Ontario. Sanders collaborated for many years on the publication of Emile Zola’s correspondence, a ten-volume project which was completed in 1995 at the University of Toronto. As the records from this project, the Emile Zola Research Program, are located at the University of St. Michael’s College, Professor Sanders wished for his books and documents to be located here as well. 

The Collection consists of: papers from director André Antoine; letters from Antoine; letters to Antoine from various playwrights, whose plays he staged; photographs of actors and actresses; letters from various members of Antoine’s family; 40 autograph letters from Emile Zola; letters from and to journalist Léon Deffoux; letters from and to Maurice LeBlond, Emile Zola’s son-in-law; letters from and to playwright Georges Ancey and his wife; several first editions of Zola’s novels, some with bound autograph letters; more than 80 plays in their original wrappers, bearing dedications by the authors, approval stamps from the Censorship Bureau, or stage directions; photographs of actors and actresses from the turn of the century; as well as correspondence from playwrights, journalists, and novelists; periodicals and playbills. Throughout the Collection are photocopied documents, collected by Sanders, as contextual material about the era and referenced events or articles within the correspondence. 

Learn more about the Collection Théâtrale André Antoine on Discover Archives 

Patrick O’Neill (1875-1938) was an Irish politician who lived in Northern Ireland and was an active member of the Nationalist party. The Patrick O’Neill fonds is a collection of papers pertaining to his political life as well as some personal records and memorabilia. 

The fonds consist of: incoming and outgoing correspondence with constituents, government officials, supporters, and other MPs, official documents, political pamphlets and booklets; election posters and flyers; newspaper clippings; personal records (notebook, speech notes); photographs; and personal memorabilia, including a leather pouch with relics of St. Anthony and St. Oliver Plunket.  Fonds also includes a sous-fonds of O’Neill’s daughter, Teresa V. O’Neill.  The Teresa V. O’Neill sous-fonds includes a draft of her doctoral thesis and correspondence related to her role of literary executrix of her father’s estate. The fonds contains records ranging between 1875 and 1998, with the predominant dates being 1918-1938. 

The papers were donated to the Kelly Library Archival and Manuscript Collections by Seamus Beattie, a grandson of Patrick O’Neill.  The material was selected from a larger collection of papers and memorabilia in the O’Neill home by Seamus Beattie and Mark McGowan, Principal of the University of St. Michael’s College. The material was shipped by mail from Ireland and received in July 2006. 

Learn more about the Patrick O’Neill fonds on Discover Archives

The Catholic New Times was an independent bi-weekly Catholic publication that operated between 1976 and 2006. The Catholic New Times was established as an alternative and independent Catholic voice in Canada, speaking about local, national and international news, and issues of concern to Catholics. 

The Catholic New Times Inc. fonds consists of minutes, reports, proposals and other materials prepared for meetings of committees and groups within Catholic New Times from 1976-2006. Fonds also includes: incoming and outgoing correspondence from 1975-1983; documents relating to the incorporation of the Catholic New Times in 1976 and subsequent changes in directors; materials documenting the mission and structure of the corporation and processes and procedures for producing the newspaper; subject files containing clippings and reports from organizations of interest to Catholic New Times members and staff, and audio-visual materials created by and for the Catholic New Times. 

The Catholic New Time Inc. fonds was donated to the Kelly Library Archival and Manuscript Collections in 2007 by the editor of the publication at the time of its closure in 2006. 

Learn more about the Catholic New Times fonds on Discover Archives 

James Feeley (1936-1993) was a librarian, communications specialist and bibliographer. His bibliography work focused on the works of his friend, communication theorist Marshall McLuhan. From 1962 until his death in 1993, Feeley worked on McLuhan’s bibliography, with help from McLuhan’s secretary Mrs. M. Stewart. Feeley collected monographs, copies of articles and newspaper clippings for the project and corresponded with McLuhan to verify facts and locate material. In 1966, Feeley was asked to serve as McLuhan’s link with the University of Toronto Press for the publication of Explorations. 

The James Feeley fonds contains files related to the compilation of the McLuhan bibliography, correspondence from McLuhan to Feeley, and files from Feeley’s work on the publication of Explorations. 

Learn more about the James Feeley fonds on Discover Archives   

Monsignor John O’Connor (1870-1952) was a Roman Catholic priest who, after meeting G.K. Chesterton in 1904, became the model for Chesterton’s character “Father Brown.” Chesterton and O’Connor remained friends for over thirty years. O’Connor maintained connections with several other Catholic writers including Hilaire Belloc, Maurice Baring and typographer Eric Gill. Throughout his life O’Connor published poems, book reviews and prose in English Catholic periodicals and newspapers. 

The Father John O’Connor Papers collection of a collection of hand-written and typed manuscripts, poems, translations and radio transcripts created and accumulated by Monsignor John O’Connor. The collection also includes correspondence, collected ephemera such as newspaper clippings, Christmas cards, posters, pamphlets and small press publications and research notes. The majority of the material relates to O’Connor’s relationship with G.K. Chesterton but includes translations of Latin religious poetry done by O’Connor as well as examples of his prose pieces on literature, Church history, morality, religion and philosophy. 

Learn more about the Father John O’Connon collection on Discover Archives    

The Plowman Family Postcard Collection is a collection of postcards received and collected by members of the Plowman family between 1902 and 1932. The Plowman family was an English immigrant family living in Toronto, Ontario. 

The fonds consists of 312 postcards that have been arranged chronologically. Postcards in the collection include greeting cards for birthdays, Easter, Christmas, New Years, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, the 4th of July, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving. The collection includes popular novelty cards such as photographic portrait postcards or postcards decorated with glitter. Many of the postcards depict buildings and streetscapes, as well as various types of advertisements. 

Learn more about the Plowman Family Postcard Collection on Discover Archives