The dates covered by this collection span between the 1930's and the 1970's, with the bulk appearing to document the 1950's through the 60's. The contents of this collection are almost entirely correspondence between members of religious orders and the Archbishop. The Vicar/Delegate for the Religious clearly handled an immense bulk of any matters pertaining to the religious orders of the diocesan. Some subjects covered in the correspondence include contracts for religious school teachers, invitations to ceremonies, requests from members of the religious order to make changes to their wills, updates on Foundress' canonization processes, and letters from individual nuns who have concerns regarding their Order's practices. This collection could serve to provide unique information about the works, progress, and struggles of the (primarily women's) religious orders of the Archdiocese of Newark during the mid-1900's. In addition, it illustrates the organizational command of the Archdiocese, as the correspondence documents which matters were felt necessary to be brought to the attention of the Archbishop.

The collection appears to be arranged in two large groups chronologically by Archbishop or by Auxilliary Bishop/Vicar; the first group (Boxes 1-8) appears to be primarily from Archbishop Walsh's tenure and the second group (Boxes 9-13) under Archbishop Boland, assisted by Bishops McNulty and McCarthy. The files are then arranged alphabetically by the name of the order, then by individual chapter or by the name of an individual sister. In the second group of files, this order is not consistent.