Vatican Secret Archives

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The Vatican Secret Archives (Latin: Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum; Italian: Archivio Segreto Vaticano), located in Vatican City, 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.

Contents 1 Extent 2 Access 3 Opening of the archives 4 Archivists of the Vatican Secret Archives 5 Other secret archives 6 Jewish conspiracy theories 7 References 8 Further reading 9 See also 10 External links 10.1 News articles

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran, with Jorge Maria Cardinal Mejia, Luigi Cardinal Poggi and Alfons Maria Cardinal Stickler all holding the position of Archivist Emeritus.

[edit] 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]

[edit] Archivists of the Vatican Secret Archives

• Agostino Ciasca (19 May 1891 - 4 Jul 1893)
• Luigi Galimberti (25 Jun 1894 - 7 May 1896)
• Francesco Segna (4 Jul 1896 - 13 Jan 1908)
• Francesco Salesio Della Volpe 26 Oct 1908 - 26 Jan 1911)
• Francis Aidan Gasquet (28 Nov 1917 - 5 Apr 1929)
• Franziskus Ehrle (17 Apr 1929 - 31 Mar 1934)
• Martino Giusti (4 Jan 1956 - 24 May 1984)
• Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant (14 Sep 1957 - 27 Mar 1971)
• Antonio Samore (25 Jan 1974 - 3 Feb 1983)
• Alfons Cardinal Stickler (8 Sep 1983 - 1 Jul 1988)
• Antonio María Javierre Ortas (1 Jul 1988 - 24 Jan 1992)
• Luigi Cardinal Poggi (9 Apr 1992 - 7 Mar 1998)
• Jorge Maria Cardinal Mejia (7 Mar 1998 - 24 Nov 2003)
• Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran (24 Nov 2003 - )

[edit] Other secret archives

Not included in the Secret Archives is archive of the Apostolic Penitentiary contains papal documents and other material that are not made public due to the Seal of the Confessional. Nevertheless the Secret Archives are the main collection.

[edit] Jewish conspiracy theories

Due to the atmosphere of secrecy surrounding the Vatican Archives, a persistent conspiracy theory current among nationalist and religious (especially kabbalist) circles in Israel asserts that the menorah and other furnishings of the Temple in Jerusalem are hidden in a secret alcove in the Vatican Archives. Some holders of this theory claim that the Catholic Church hides its possession of the Menorah, since if it were to return to Jewish possession Judaism would get the ascendancy over all other world religions.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 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

[edit] 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. 
• 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

[edit] See also

• Actes et Documents du Saint Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale
• Acta Apostolicae Sedis
• Relations between Catholicism and Judaism
• Henry Denifle Sub-archivist at the Vatican (1883-1905)

[edit] External links

• Vatican Secret Archive Official Web Site, including a history of the Secret Archives (English and Italian languages)
• The Holy See — The Vatican's Official Website
• The Vatican Palace, as a Scientific Institute; Roman Historical Institutes; Ecclesiastical Archives - Catholic Encyclopedia
• Archives of the Holy See - New Catholic Dictionary, 1910 version
• University of Michigan Vatican Archives Project Detailed history, description and catalogue of archives
• Secret Archives of the Vatican article from Rotten.Com
• Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio: The Opening of the Roman Inquisition's Central Archive by Anne Jacobson Schutte, Perspectives Online, Published by the American Historical Association, May 1999
• Inside the Vatican - National Geographic, April 8, 2004
• An interview with Sergio Pagano, prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, January 18, 2005. Sergio Pagano

[edit] News articles

• Inquisition Requires Calm, Objective Analysis, EWTN Library, from L'Osservatore Romano, Nov. 11, 1998. Address of Pope John Paul II to the participants of the International Symposium on the Inquisition at the Vatican, Oct. 31, 1998. In attendance was the internationally renowned historian Carlo Ginzburg. In 1979, Ginzburg sent a letter to the then newly elected Pope John Paul II, asking that the archives of the Holy office (the Roman Inquisition) be opened. Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, credited Ginzburg, and his 1979 letter, as having been instrumental in the Vatican's decision to open these archives. [2]
• Vatican to Open Archives Tied to a Key Era in Germany, Zenit News Agency, Oct. 29, 2002
• Vatican to computerize archives from the Holy Office, Inquisition - Catholic World News, Dec.5, 2002.
• Vatican 'dispels Inquisition myths' - BBC News, June 15, 2004
• John Paul II Letter on Inquisition Symposium - Zenit, June 15, 2004
• Scrutinizing the Inquisition; an "exposé of the tortures and injustices committed by various national Inquisitions..." - Zenit, June 24, 2004
• Jewish group threatens to sue Vatican for access to archives - Catholic News Service, Jan. 28, 2005
• Vatican's secret archives now open to scholars - CathNews, Sept. 19, 2006
• New Insights Into Vatican's Diplomacy "Documents from newly opened Vatican archives indicate..." - www.newsvine.com/ Oct. 12, 2006