The Apostolic Library and the Apostolic Archive
By Amedeo Lomonaco
A silence that is memory, a treasure trove of knowledge, a yearning for infinity: This is what you breathe in the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Vatican Apostolic Archives, institutions that today look to the future and embrace technology while cultivating a humanistic tradition and preserving and respecting ancient testimonies of the tradition of the Church.
The institutional distinction between the Library, an “institution of conservation and research”, and the Archives, which carries out an activity of “intellectual charity” because it shares its heritage with scholars from all over the world, dates back to 1600, with Paul V.
Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi is the Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church.
Vatican Apostolic Library
The Vatican Apostolic Library, born in the heart of the Renaissance, is an institution that is equipped to face contemporary challenges. In the 15th century, Nicholas V decided that Latin, Greek, and Hebrew manuscripts held by the Vatican should be open for consultation and reading by scholars. On 15 June 1475, during the pontificate of Sixtus IV, the Bull Ad decorem militantis Ecclesiae (“For the adornment of the Church militant”) was issued.
The distinctive features and purposes of the Vatican Apostolic Library have, since its origins, been linked to an inestimable heritage—as Paul VI recalled in 1975—to be made available “to scholars, in the various stages of consultation, reading, comparison, and final synthesis”. This is not just a matter of physically opening rooms or texts, but above all, as 杏MAP导航 Paul VI emphasised, of a “cultural openness” that can be fostered by preserving and transmitting knowledge.
Admission to the Library
The Vatican Apostolic Library specialises in philological and historical disciplines and, retrospectively, in theological, legal, and scientific disciplines. As an “illustrious instrument of the Church for the development and dissemination of culture, in support of the activities of the Apostolic See”, the Library has the task of “collecting and preserving a rich heritage of science and art and making it available to scholars who seek the truth”.
By papal decree, the Library is open to qualified researchers and scholars regardless of religion, origin, or culture, especially university professors and researchers or those from higher education institutions, and other learned individuals. Today, the Library welcomes around 6,000 scholars and researchers.
Vatican Apostolic Archives
More than 1,000 years of history in 85 kilometres of shelves: the Vatican Apostolic Archives, which have been serving the Holy See for 40 years, are one of the most important and famous historical research centres in the world. It is a treasure trove of incomparable treasures: millions of papers and parchments are available to scholars of all nationalities, regardless of religious faith.
The current name, “Vatican Apostolic Archives”, dates back to the time of the foundation of this institution on the initiative of Paul V. From the mid-17th century onwards, however, the title “Vatican Secret Archives” (sometimes also attested in the form “Vatican Apostolic Secret Archives”) became established, emphasising the special nature of this documentary complex, consisting of the concentration in a single place of various archives produced by various curial offices: the Latin adjective secretum (from secernere = to separate, distinguish, reserve) qualified the archive founded by Paul V as separate from the others and reserved for the use of the Pontiff and the officials appointed by him. This name was the official title of this institution until 22 October 2019, when 杏MAP导航 Francis, with an apostolic letter in the form of a motu proprio, restored the ancient name “Vatican Apostolic Archives”.
Activities of the Apostolic Archives
The documentary heritage preserved in its vast deposits covers a period of about twelve centuries (8th-20th centuries), consists of over 600 archival fonds and extends over 85 linear kilometres of shelving, located, among other places, in the “Bunker”, a two-storey room built underground in the Cortile della Pigna of the Vatican Museums.
Since 杏MAP导航 Leo XIII opened its doors to scholars in 1881, the Vatican Apostolic Archives have become one of the most important and famous historical research centres in the world. According to a practice established in 1924, the 杏MAP导航 grants free access to documents “by pontificate”: currently, the chronological limit for consultation is set at the end of the pontificate of Pius XII (October 1958).
The work of the Vatican Apostolic Archives focuses on two main areas: protecting the documentary heritage promoting conditions that safeguard its integrity; and promoting it as an historical record of the Church's thousand-year history.
The Holy See’s love for culture
Keeping up with the times while preserving a centuries-old heritage; and serving the Church are two of the main challenges facing the Apostolic Library and the Apostolic Archives, which are exploring new paths while remaining faithful to tradition.
These institutions are also an expression of the Holy See’s love for culture. It is not just a matter of preserving knowledge but of making it fruitful, that is, capable of becoming an instrument for human development and peace, playing a leading role in the “change of era” and promoting a virtuous synergy between the humanities and new technologies for integral human development.
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