Historical Documentation Outside the Archivio Segreto

Not all papal documentation is found in the ASV. Partly as a result of historical forces and partly as a result of administrative convenience, the historical documentation of the Holy See is spread among a variety of repositories. In describing the locations of the various institutions that house such documents, it is important to make one distinction at the start. There is a great body of papal material found in most archives of the world. These documents are for the most part either documents received in an official capacity by an institution or government or manuscripts purchased by collectors and deposited in an archival repository or library.

This guide is concerned only with papal documentation generated by the Holy See that was intended to be retained within the offices of the Holy See. The principal repository for this material is the Archivio Segreto Vaticano. However, archival materials from the Holy See exist in a number of archival repositories. As a result of the division of the archives in 1870, the Archivio di Stato di Roma contains a huge collection of records regarding the civil administration of the Papal States. This guide integrates civil administrative material in the ASV and major civil administrative series (prior to 1870) in the Archivio di Stato di Roma.

Furthermore, as noted above, many other congregations maintain their own archives. Those whose records are described in this guide to the same level as the descriptions for series in the ASV are as follows:

  1. The historical archives of the Congregazione per l'evangelizzazione dei popoli, formerly and popularly known as the Congregation "De Propaganda Fide." This is the congregation of the Curia that has responsibility for the missions of the church. The holdings of the historical archive of the Propaganda Fide are listed in this guide in the section "Roman Curia: Congregations." The archive is located in the historic headquarters of the congregation on the Piazza di Spagna in central Rome (address: Piazza di Spagna 48, 00187 Rome).
  2. The archive of the Reverenda fabbrica di San Pietro. The Fabbrica is the agency of the church that was responsible for the construction of St. Peters Basilica. It now has responsibility for the maintenance of the building among other duties. The holdings of this archive are listed in this guide in the section "Roman Curia: Congregations." The archive is located in a series of rooms within the basilica itself (address: Fabbrica di San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City).

There are many other congregations that maintain their own historical archive but whose holdings were not included in this survey and guide. Among those are the following that are known to have important holdings:

  1. The Archive of the Sezione dei rapporti con gli Stati, formerly the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. This congregation is described in the guide in the section "Roman Curia: Congregations." Founded in 1814, the archive is therefore primarily a nineteenth-century collection of documents concerning a wide range of topics relating to the worldwide interests of the Holy See (address: Palazzo Apostolico, 00120 Vatican City).
  2. The Archive of the Congregazione per il culto divino e la disciplina dei sacramenti, formerly the Congregation of Rites. This tongregation is described in the guide in the section "Roman Curia: Congregations." It has responsibility for administering the process for determining the saints of the church. The holdings in its archive date from its founding in 1588. However a substantial portion of its records have been deposited in the ASV. Others can be found in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. The archive is located just outside St. Peter's Square in Rome (address: Piazza Pio XII, 00193 Rome).
  3. The Archive of the Penitenzieria (Paenitentiaria) apostolica. This office predates the reform of Sixtus V and is described in this guide in the section "Roman Curia: Tribunals." (The name of this office was historically spelled Poenitentiaria, which spelling is used elsewhere in this guide.) It has had responsibilities for' matters of conscience, certain questions regarding marriage, and for certain dispensations. Its archive spans most of its history with records as early as 1409 and on through the nineteenth century (address: Via della Conciliazione 34, 00193 Rome).
    4. Bentley archivist Tom Powers

    Bentley archivist Tom Powers

  4. The Archive of the Officio delle ce1ebrazioni liturgiche del Sommo Pontifico, formerly Prefect for Apostolic Ceremonies (Prefettura delle ceremonie pontificie). This office has responsibility for arranging ceremonies, for example, for the consecration of bishops and for the reception of foreign sovereigns and ambassadors. This agency is described in the section "Papal Court." Its small archive includes material from the fifteenth century onward (address: Palazzo Apostolico, Loggia I del Cortile di S. Damaso, 00120 Vatican City).
  5. The Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Holy Office. This archive is not open for consultation (address: Palazzo del S. Uffizio, Piazza S. Uffizio 11, 00120 Vatican City).

It is useful at this point to recall that the pope is and has always been the bishop of Rome. As such, the archive of the diocese of Rome, while pertaining to a local diocese, does have a special relationship with the general records of the Holy See. The archive of the diocese of Rome is located in the offices of the Vicariato next to the basilica of St. John Lateran (address: Palazzo Lateranense, Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano 6, 00184 Rome).

In addition to the archives within the Holy See, there is significant papal archival material in three repositories not connected with the Vatican. These holdings have been incorporated into the structure of this guide and described in connection with their appropriate offices.

  1. At Trinity College Dublin there is a collection of Lateran Registers and of registers from the Holy Office (address: College Street, Dublin 2, Ireland).
  2. At the Archives Nationales, Paris, there is a collection of registers from the Camera, from the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, and a few volumes from other offices. These were left behind when the bulk of the ASV holdings were returned :,:. (address: CARAN, 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75141 Paris, France). .'
  3. At the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, there is a series of printed records from the'" Congregation of Rites (address: 58 rue de Richelieu, 75002 Paris, France).