A silence that is memory, a treasure chest of knowledge, a yearning for the infinite. This is what one breathes in the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Vatican Apostolic Archives, institutions that today look to the future, embracing technology while cultivating a humanistic tradition and preserving and respecting ancient testimonies of the Church’s tradition. The institutional distinction between the Library, an “institute of conservation and research,” and the Archives, which carries out an activity of “intellectual charity” by sharing its heritage with scholars from around the world, dates back to 1600, to Paul V. The archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church is Monsignor Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi.

Vatican Apostolic Library

The Vatican Apostolic Library is an institution born in the heart of the Renaissance that faces the challenges of today. In the 15th century, Nicholas V decreed that the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew codices should be open for consultation and reading by scholars. On June 15, 1475, during the pontificate of Sixtus IV, the Bull  Ad decorem militantis Ecclesiae  (For the decorum of the Church militant and for the spread of the faith) was promulgated. The distinctive features and aims of the Vatican Apostolic Library have been, from their origins, linked to an invaluable heritage—as Paul VI recalled in 1975—that must be made available “to scholars, in the different phases of consultation, reading, collation, and conclusive synthesis.” It is not just a matter of a material opening of premises or texts, but above all, as Pope Montini had emphasized, of a “cultural opening” that can be fostered if knowledge is preserved and transmitted.

Library Admission

The Vatican Apostolic Library specializes in philological and historical disciplines and, in retrospect, in theological, legal, and scientific ones. “A distinguished instrument of the Church for the development and dissemination of culture, in support of the activities of the Holy See,” the Library has the task “of gathering 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 without distinction of religion, origin, or culture, particularly to university professors and researchers from institutes of higher learning, as well as other learned individuals. Today, the Library welcomes nearly 6,000 scholars and researchers.

Vatican Apostolic Archives

Over 1,000 years of history in 85 kilometers of shelving. The Vatican Apostolic Archives, serving the Holy See for 400 years, is one of the world’s most important and renowned centers for historical research. It is a treasure trove of unparalleled material: millions of documents and parchments are available to scholars of any nationality, regardless of religious affiliation. The current name “Vatican Apostolic Archives” dates back to the time of the institute’s founding by Paul V. From the mid-17th century onward, however, the title “Vatican Secret Archives” (sometimes also found as “Vatican Apostolic Secret Archives”) became prevalent, emphasizing the unique nature of this complex collection of documents. It consisted of the concentration in one place of various archives produced by different curial departments: the Latin adjective  secretum  (from  secernere  = to separate, distinguish, reserve) effectively described the archive founded by Paul V as separate from the others and reserved for the use of the Pope and the officials appointed by him. This name remained the official title of the institute until October 22, 2019, when Francis, with the apostolic letter issued  motu proprio  L’esperienza storica , reinstated the former name “Vatican Apostolic Archives.”

Activity of the Apostolic Archive

The documentary heritage preserved in its vast repositories covers a chronological arc of about twelve centuries (8th-20th centuries), consists of more than 600 archival collections and extends along 85 linear km of shelving placed, among other places, in the Bunker, a two-story building excavated in the subsoil of the Pinecone Courtyard of the Vatican Museums.

Since Pope Leo XIII opened its doors to scholars in 1881, the Vatican Apostolic Archives have become one of the world’s most important and renowned centers for historical research. According to a practice introduced in 1924, the Pope 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 Vatican Apostolic Archives’ activities unfold in two main directions: the protection of its documentary heritage, fostering conservation conditions that safeguard its integrity, and its enhancement as a historical record of the Church’s millennia-long history.

The Holy See’s love for culture

Keeping abreast of the times while safeguarding a centuries-old heritage. Serving the Church. These are some of the main challenges that, while forging new paths, remain true to tradition. These institutions are also an expression of the Holy See’s love for culture. It is not simply a matter of preserving knowledge, but of making it fruitful, that is, capable of becoming an instrument for human development and peace, actively participating in the “changing times” and fostering a virtuous synergy between the humanities and new technologies for integral human development.

(Translation made while maintaining fidelity to the original text published in  Vatican News  )

1. State Secretariat
2. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
3. Dicastery for Bishops
4. Dicastery for the Clergy
5. Dicastery for the Service of Charity
6. Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
7. Dicastery for the Causes of Saints
8. The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
9. Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue
10. Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
11. Dicastery for Communication
12. Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
13. Dicastery for the Oriental Churches
14. Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
15. Dicastery for Evangelization
16. Dicastery for Culture and Education
17. The Apostolic Library and the Apostolic Archive