The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-05-11
VATICAN ARCHIVES.

The announcement that Pope Bene-
dict XIV has appointed Cardinal Gas
quet, of the Benedictine Order, Pre-
feet of the Archives of the Vatican,
has again drawn attention to that i'm
portant collection of documents,
the Pilot. The new Cardinal Project
is accustomed to deal with the con-
tents of archives, and the excellent
use he has. made of them is fully evil
denced by the important historical
works which bear his name.
Vatican Archives may be said to be
contemporary with the founding of the
Church in Rome. They were kept
in cell or chamber formed in the
wall of the apse of the basilica or
chamber of the Bishop, and were
placed in the care and guardianship
of the t1ectors''
The documents thus so carefully
preserved were copies of the Gospels
and7the Sacred Scriptures which were
read to the faithful in their assem-
.blies; the Acts of the Martyrs; the
Letters of Bishops, and other like doc
uments which concerned the life of
the Christian people and the progress
of religion and it's consequent ciyili-
zation in the early ages. Today the
Secret Archives occupy three floors
in the Vatican Palace, each containing
eight or nine large halls
Priceless Manuscript.
On the first floor are the materials
all in manuscript the Pontifcal
Bulls, Briefs, and other such docu
ments issued by the Pontiffs, or un.
der their immediate supervision
These are the documents of the Papal
Chancellory since the 18th century.
The rooms on the second floor con
tain the documents which were for
merlv housed in the Castle of ST. An
gelo, and the records of the Temporal
administration of the Holy See. Here
also are the collection of Carlovingiar
diplomas in favor of the Holy See
with golden seals, those of the Saxon
Emperors, and that of Rudolf of Haps
burg, distinguished by a golden sea-
of extraordinary magnitude.
On the third floor are the diplomatic
documents of the Pope, the collections
of manuscripts containing thousand:
of parchments from the 10th to thu
18th century relating to the history O.
the city and the province of Rome.
This is but a rough estimate of thu
historical treasures contained in thu
Secret Archives of the Vatican.
Opened by Pope Leo XIII.
It is to the eternal honor of tn,
great Pontiff Leo XIII, the constan
promoter of historical studies, that h,
Iopened the Secret Archives of the Vat
lean to the researches of student
from the various nations of Christen
dom.
tsWe have no fear of the publica
ton of documents" said Leo XIII on
day; and in conformity with tina
word, he presented the secret archiye
to the gaze of the world. He knew
the evil results which had come from
partially Informed and prejudicet
writer's attempting to write history
based chiefly on their Imagination
| When Lord Macaillay's History vii
be consigned to the shelves of the re
mancers, Lingard's will be studied a
an accurate guide" is a saying Al
.tributed to Cardinal Wiseman whic
has been fulfilled almost to the letter
Several Of James Anthony Froude'
historical fantasies were dissolve
into. thin air in the City of Boston b
the late Father Tom Burke, the celt
hrated Dominican preacher, VIII
based his statements on documents.
New Departments.
On June 20. 1879, the Pope, on th
appointment of a new Cardinal Pr
fleet Of the Archives, announced hi
lfntention It's fnIfiIlment and pract
cal realization involved certai
changes and adaptations in the Vat
can A new and spacious hall to cor