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The Archdiocese of San Antonio collection is a private, non-circulating collection and use of the archive is a privilege accorded to the public by ecclesiastical authority and can be revoked at the will of the Most Reverend Archbishop of San Antonio.
The collection consists of materials that contribute to the development and maintenance of archival collections that document the history and support the mission of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
The collection contains materials in a wide variety of formats, including paper documents of various qualities and sizes, journals and ledgers, general and in-house publications, manuscripts, rare books, serials and periodicals, photographic media, audio visual media, digital media, architectural drawings, scrapbooks, ephemera, artwork, relics and reliquaries, liturgical containers, vestments. A description of materials collected include:
Materials generated by the Archdiocese
- All publications of the Archdiocese
- Records of administrative offices, agencies, parishes, and schools
- Personal papers and professional records of Bishops and Archbishops
- Personal papers and professional records of select clergy, staff and lay leaders within the church, when such materials pertain directly to the operations or activities of the Archdiocese
Materials related to the Archdiocese
- Publications in which the Archdiocese is described or mentioned, or which provide background for the history of the Archdiocese
- Selective biographical and bibliographical information about Archdiocesan clergy, employees, and lay leaders within the church
- Professional and personal papers of Archdiocesan clergy, employees, and lay leaders within the church
Research
All requestors must submit a signed Research Request form through the request portal online.
Find the Research Request form on the Forms page.
For Scholarly Research please submit a Research Request form through the request portal online.
Find the Research Request form on the Forms page.
Parish staff or lay persons who have been assigned by the pastor or pastor of a parish and is requesting information, a Parish Research Request form should be submitted through the request portal online.
Find the Research Request form on the Forms page.
Approved requests must be reviewed by the Archivist and will be scheduled after requests for the administration have been fulfilled. Requests may be delayed due to ongoing projects or requests by the administration and parishes along with daily duties. Please plan accordingly.
Family and Genealogical Research
Sacramental certificates will not be issued for family/genealogical research or to anyone other than the person(s) who made the sacrament. For research of family members through the Archdiocese of San Antonio’s sacramental records please download the guide, Archdiocese of San Antonio Records Available to the Public Online (PDF), for information on where to get access and what records are available for research.
Citing and Permission to Publish
Citing Material
In citing materials from the archives, use the following credit line:
“Courtesy of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives.”
Citations will be provided by Archive and Records Management office in the following format:
Identification of item, date (if known); Collection title, collection number; box number, folder number. Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, Texas.
In the event that research becomes a source for publication, the Archives requests a copy of the publication, or if unavailable, a bibliographical note.
Permission to Publish
Permission to publish from unpublished manuscripts or published works under copyright must be obtained from the holder of the copyright. It is the researcher’s responsibility to secure that permission and to observe the copyright law as well as the laws of libel and invasion of privacy and of property rights. For original manuscript material owned by the archives, special permission of the Chancellor must be obtained before publication.
Permission to Publish may be submitted through the request portal online.
Find the Permission to Publish form on the Forms page.
Services and Fees
The Archives and Records Management office provides limited digital and reproduction services.
Please see the details about the services and associated fees here.
Reproduction of Materials
Access to and photocopying of collections may be restricted or denied at the Archives staff’s discretion. There will be a charge for any photocopies. Photocopying of unique, fragile, and oversized items is not permitted. The Archives staff cannot authorize copying of images for which reproduction is not permitted. Photocopying will be completed as time allows and there is no guarantee that copying will be completed during the researcher’s visit.
Photocopies obtained from the Archives will be stamped and may not be further duplicated. Photographing research materials may be granted by Archives staff. No flash photography will be allowed. Archival materials are copied for individual research projects only. Permission must be granted to place copies in another repository or to publish.
Digitization Services
All items requested digitized for personal research will be watermarked. Materials requested for digitization do not include permission to publish. Please see Citing and Permission to Publish.
Requests for digitization must be submitted using the Digitization Request Form found on the Forms page and submitted directly to the Archivist or submitted through the request portal online.
