The article aims at Memorial Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves, memory institution located in São João del Rei in the state of Minas Gerais, and composed of a museum, a library and a personal archive. Archbishop Lucas Moreira Neves was a Dominican friar, auxiliary bishop of São Paulo, as well as archbishop, cardinal and Primate of the Country from 1987 to 1998. This case study sought to identify the social, political and economic conditions that development. Special attention is given to the collection - museum, bibliographical and archival - deposited in the Memorial, aiming to understand the role they play in the construction of the image of Dom Lucas Moreira Neves, as well as the memorialist initiatives that have been undertaken by the institution.