Correspondence files of the founder, Brother Mathias Barrett, and financial records of the organization in its early years; correspondence files of the second Superior General Brother Camillus Harbinson, and records of council meetings and minutes, General Chapter papers, and information on individual houses during the years 1977-1986; correspondence files of the third Superior General Brother Justin Howson, and circulars and memos of the organization; General Chapter records; formation / vocation records; files kept by the Generalate concerning individual houses; records of each individual house; deceased brothers and priests files; printed material including prayerbooks; objects; photos and scrapbooks; audiovisual material; and miscellaneous material collected by the Brothers of the Good Shepherd.
The records of the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd are divided into two major groups: the generalate files and the individual house files. The Superior General files contain primarily correspondence. Superior General and founder, Brother Mathias, has eight boxes total, seven of which are correspondence (1950-1990s). The earliest letters to Archbishop Byrne (1950-1951) reveal his desire to establish the Good Shepherd organization. Letters are arranged chronologically within series on the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, Good Shepherd Congregation, sisters, priests, brothers, dioceses, laymen, laywomen, foreign countries, relatives and family. The files also contain bank statements, receipts, bills, memos, meeting agendas and minutes, and constitutions.
Files of the second Superior General, Brother Camillus Harbinson, also include correspondence, but focus more on council meetings and minutes, constitutions, General Chapter items, workshops, profession and postulate records of brothers, newsletters, and individual houses (1977-1986). Brother Justin Howson's Superior General files include a series of circulars and memos (1986-1994), General Chapter records, correspondence, ministry assembly notes, and brothers' surveys.
Various brothers of the Good Shepherd held official positions within the organization, but their files were not designated as such. Often they were interspersed with the Generalate information. With the administration of Brother Justin, specific titles began to emerge within the filing system. Vicar General files of Brother Majella Marchand (1987-1992) include correspondence. Treasurer General files of Brother Mark Harmueller consist of one folder. Brother Jerome McCarthy (1989-1990), the first full-time Treasurer General, and Mrs. Judy Brinkmann (1990-1994), the first lay Treasurer General, have files in chronological order.
The General Chapter of 1977-78 directed that an archives be created, thus Brother Michael Carlyle's files as archivist. These include cemetery records, a coat of arms, a history of the congregation, archival forms, prayer manuals, silver jubilee information, constitutions, house reports, mailgrams, Shepherd's Call booklets, and requests. The General Chapter (1956-1992) series include the canonical status of the brothers, constitutional revisions and corrections, chapter meetings and minutes, proposals, questionnaires, speeches, reports, and a chronology of all the chapters. The General Council files contain minutes and correspondence (1978-1987).
The General Chapter Records (1956-1992) include series on the canonical status of the brothers, constitutional revisions and corrections, and chapter meetings with minutes, proposals, questionnaires, speeches, reports, and a chronology of all the chapters. The General Council Files contain minutes and correspondence (1978-1987)
Formation / Vocation records include printed material, manuals, handouts, and admission forms. There is an alphabetical file of Good Shepherd applicants (1950-1980s). Canonical Status files consist of messages of Pope Paul VI (1968-1972), Holy See material (1980), Sacred Congregation for Religious (1956-1984), and Vatican correspondence (1966-1978).
The House information for the Generalate (1950-1990) covers the Albuquerque region, Canada, Missouri, Ireland, Florida, California, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and England. Documents include Articles of Incorporation, property deed copies, bylaws, bills, checks, statements, donations, maps, trust and estate information, legal papers, statistics, and minutes of house meetings.
Miscellaneous files are alphabetized according to person / subject, and cover historical, political, and religious people and organizations (1940-1980). The House records reveal the day to day operations of the brothers who manage them. Many different document types form the files: bank accounts, real estate information, liquid assets, receipts, development funds, payroll records, printouts of finances, appraisals, policy manuals, disbursements, balance sheets, insurance forms, staff newsletters, taxation documents, income statements, corporation minutes, donations, contracts, invoices, court cases, individual resident files and correspondence.
The Deceased brothers and priests files also serve as dossier files; they include personal items, mass cards, booklets, scrapbooks, etc.
A legal size file was established to consolidate the numerous newspaper articles (1950-1990s) on Brother Mathias and the BGS houses. They are arranged alphabetically according to house name. The Brothers of the Good Shepherd collection also contains scrapbooks of newspaper clippings kept intact. Index cards