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Vatican Apostolic Archive

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The Vatican Secret Archives (Latin: Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum), is the central repository for all of the acts promulgated by the Holy See. These archives also contain the state papers, correspondence, papal account books,[1] and many other documents which the church has accumulated over the centuries. In the 17th century, under the orders of Pope Paul V, the Secret Archives were removed from the Vatican Library and remained absolutely closed to Vatican outsiders until the 19th century, fueling rumors of what might be secreted away there.

Extent

The Vatican Secret Archives have been estimated to contain 30 miles of shelving, and there are 35,000 volumes in the selective catalogue alone: "Publication of the indexes, in part or as a whole, is forbidden," according to the regulations current in 2005. The Secret Archives support their own photographic and conservation studios.

According to the Vatican website, the oldest surviving document dates back to the end of the eighth century. "Transfers and political upheavals nearly caused the total loss of all the archival material preceding Innocent III."[2] From 1198 onwards more complete archives exist, though documentation is a little scanty before the thirteenth century. Since that time, the documentation includes items such as Henry VIII of England's request for a marriage annulment, and letters from Michelangelo, or files on Jaime Bleda.

Access

Adjacent to the Vatican Museum, its entrance is through the Porta di S. Anna in via di Porta Angelica (rione of Borgo). There is no browsing, and selected scholars must ask in advance for the precise document they wish to see; thus, they must know in advance that such a document exists. The catalogue is not complete. The Vatican estimates the linear length as about 85 kilometers of shelving. The current Archivist is His Eminence Raffaele Farina, with Jorge Maria Cardinal Mejia, Luigi Cardinal Poggi and Alfons Maria Cardinal Stickler all holding the position of Archivist Emeritus.

Opening of the archives

Almost all organisations with archives have time restrictions on when their documents may be opened to the public, lest any documents have sensitive information that would be damaging if released. The Vatican Archives is no exception. Customarily, documents are made available to the public after a period of 75 years.

In 1883, Pope Leo XIII opened archives dated 1815 or earlier to non-clerical scholars. The first papal historian to make fundamental use of the Secret Archives was Ludwig von Pastor. Since then, the secret archives of subsequent pontificates have been opened as follows:

  • 1924: Pontificates down to Gregory XVI (died 1846)
  • 1966: Pius IX (1846-1878). Note here that the opening of Pius IX's pontificate was planned during the pontificate of Pius XII
  • 1978: Leo XIII (1878-1903)
  • 1985: Pius X (1903-1914) and Benedict XV (1914-1922)

On February 20, 2002, Pope John Paul II took the extraordinary step of making available, beginning in 2003, some of the documents from the Historical Archives of the Secretariat of State (Second Section), which pertain to the Vatican's relations with Germany during the pontificate (1922-1939) of Pope Pius XI. The Vatican's reason for this action was "to put an end to unjust and thoughtless speculation."[3]

In June of 2006, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the opening of all the Vatican Archives for the pontificate of Pope Pius XI.[4] However, the files are not yet available for public review.[citation needed]

Archivists of the Vatican Secret Archives

Other secret archives

Not included in the Secret Archives is the archive of the Apostolic Penitentiary, which contains papal documents and other materials that are not made public due to the Seal of the Confessional.

References

  1. ^ See Pastor, History of the Popes, vol. III, 31.[1]
  2. ^ The Vatican Secret Archives: The Past, Vatican website
  3. ^ Vatican Archivists Rush to Declassify WWII Documents - Catholic World News, Feb. 20, 2002
  4. ^ Benedict XVI Opens Archives on Pius XI - Zenit News Agency, July 2, 2006

Further reading

  • Ambrosini, Maria Luisa. The Secret Archives of the Vatican. Boston: Little, Brown, 1969 (republished 1996). ISBN 0-7607-0125-3
  • Blouin, Francis X.; et al. (1998). Vatican Archives: An Inventory and Guide to Historical Documentation of the Holy See. New York, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509552-9. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  • Pastor, Ludwig von. The history of the popes, from the close of the Middle Ages: (drawn from the secret archives of the Vatican and other original sources). from WorldCat. Reprints: Periodicals Service Company (New York) and Schmidt Periodicals GmbH (Germany)
  • Borromeo, Agostino. L'inquisizione : atti del Simposio internazionale, Città del Vaticano ( The inquisition: actions of the international Symposium, Vatican City), Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 2003. ISBN 88-210-0761-8

See also

News articles

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