Special Collections
Inquiries
Please direct all research inquiries to our archivist:
Marissa Ortosky-Dorantes, Archivist
5232 Broadview Road
Richfield, Ohio 44286-9481
mortosky@srsofcharity.org
330-659-5100
“Had someone told me at the crossroads of life that I’d spend my days caring for alcoholics, I’d have wilted. But God… can use very weak and apparently inefficient instruments to accomplish His purpose.”
SR. IGNATIA GAVIN: CSA’S CONNECTION TO ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
“For more than 40 years, Sister M. Ignatia Gavin, CSA was a messenger of hope for alcoholics and their families. Her courageous stand for medical treatment and her caring devotion to the victims of alcoholism helped Dr. Bob Smith and Bill Wilson, founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, and thousands who have come after them.” –Angel of Hope
Photographs, videos, awards, personal memorabilia, books pertaining to Sr. Ignatia and AA, and newspaper clippings are included in this collection.
“Like the Good Samaritan, Sr. Henrietta traveled a long road, encountered those in need, and provided a practical approach to the suffering, homeless, and neglected.”
SR. HENRIETTA GORRIS: RECLAIMING A NEIGHBORHOOD FROM POVERTY
Sr. Henrietta Gorris was best known for her work in the Hough area in Cleveland, following the riots in 1966. In these turbulent times, Sr. Henrietta helped the poor and impoverished revitalize their neighborhood.
Sr. Henrietta served as the administrator of Mercy Hospital and Timken-Mercy Hospital beginning in 1951. She was later transferred to Cleveland in 1962, becoming the director of nursing services at Charity Hospital. Through her work at Charity, Sr. Henrietta was given the opportunity to volunteer in the poverty-stricken Hough community.
Through the help of Albert Koklowsky, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima, Sr. Henrietta opened a mission center at his parish. She recruited neighborhood and suburban volunteers, and created the Caridad (Charity and Responsibility in Deed and Duty) and Famicos (Family Cooperators). Caridad was focused on meeting the needs of education, health care, and nutrition, and Famicos became a housing rehabilitation program for low income families. Sr. Henrietta also wrote a weekly column in the Catholic Universe Bulletin, in which she inspired her readers to take action against poverty.
Awards and recognitions, photographs, videos, tapes and CD’s, personal memorabilia, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other materials are included in this collection.