The Catholic University of America in Washington launched the centennial anniversary of its Oliveira Lima Library Feb. 5, with an invited gathering of the library’s friends and supporters, officials of the embassies of Brazil and Portugal, U.S. diplomats, guests and university leaders.
Hosted by Duilia de Mello, executive director of the Oliveira Lima Library and vice provost for global strategies, the event highlighted the library’s importance as the largest collection of Brasiliana outside of Brazil, its role as a space for significant research, and its status as a bridge promoting friendship between the U.S. and Brazil.
The Oliveira Lima Library was established at Catholic U. in 1924, after Manoel de Oliveira Lima, a Brazilian diplomat, historian and journalist, donated his extensive collection to the university. An avid book collector, Oliveira Lima and his wife, Flora de Oliveira Lima, built a library with 40,000 items that tell the history of Brazil.
Now numbering 60,000 items, including books, manuscripts, pamphlets, maps, photographs and works of art, the library contains important and rare sources that scholars can use to study the history and culture of Brazil and of Portuguese expansion globally.
“We’re very, very proud and privileged to be the home of this priceless and unique collection and to have stewarded it for 100 years now,” said Peter Kilpatrick, Catholic U. president. Looking forward as well as back, Kilpatrick also emphasized the work the library staff is doing to digitize the entire collection, noting that they have made one million pages available to the public since opening its digital portal in May 2022.
Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazil’s ambassador to the U.S., addressed the gathering and noted the tremendous sense of pride that the library brings to Brazil. She thanked the university for hosting the collection, which advances the study of the Brazilian people and culture.
During the ceremony, Livia Lopes, director of the Oliveira Lima Library and the Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies, also made remarks, and Provost Aaron Dominguez and de Mello presented medals to J. Raphael Della Ratta and Henry Widener to recognize their outstanding contributions to the library. Della Ratta has been an advocate of the library, donating funds to help support it, and Widener helped transform it when he was its librarian from 2019 to 2022.
Catholic U. students contributed to the festive atmosphere of the event, performing a selection of Brazilian sonatas, serenades and other musical compositions.
