(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Winter 2025  Issue #114)

OFS-USA Archives at St. Bonaventure University

By Susan Ronan, OFS

National Secretary

It has been said that our Secular Franciscan Order is one of the “best kept secrets” of the Church. Well, another “best kept secret” is where all our very important and valuable documents are stored . . . and who stores them.

Shortly after being elected to this most humble position of National Secretary, I learned that one of my responsibilities was to forward any important documents to our extremely capable and enthusiastic Archivist, Sharon Dale, OFS, who is also the La Verna Regional Minister!

St. Bonaventure University has graciously allowed us to store our files, along with theirs, in the basement of one of their buildings in Olean, New York. Each June since Sharon was appointed Archivist, she and her friend Teri Doughty, OFS, visit St. Bonaventure (by car. . . from Wisconsin!)  to organize and sort the many documents of the OFS-USA kept since the early 1900’s. They have now completed boxing up and filing 247 boxes of paper documents into mold-proof folders and transfer boxes. Every document is scanned and numbered on a hard drive for easy access. Miscellaneous items collected over the years are still to be researched and labeled.

For the past two years, Mary Frances Charsky, OFS, who is our International Councilor, and I have visited Sharon and Teri while they were doing their “hands on” work at St. Bonaventure. It is amazing to see what these ladies have accomplished. Although Sharon says it is a labor of love, it is most certainly a time-consuming and difficult one.

May the Lord bless you, Sharon and Teri, for all you do to keep us organized!

Sharon Dale, OFS, Archivist for OFS-USA.
Sharon Dale, OFS, Mary Frances Charsky, OFS, Susan Ronan, OFS, and Teri Doughty, OFS. (l-r)