Embedded Files
In front of the entrance to the Vatican Apostolic Archive.
5 June 2026
This post may be of interest to anyone keen to learn more about the Vatican and historical research.
When we hear “the Vatican archive” or “the Vatican archives,” we usually think of the Vatican Secret Archive, renamed in 2019 the Vatican Apostolic Archive. Founded in 1612, it serves as the central repository of the documents of the Holy See and preserves centuries of papal correspondence, diplomatic records, and administrative files. It attracted increased public attention after the opening for consultation of the archives from the pontificate of Pius XII (1939–1958) in 2020.
But is there only one Vatican archive? The singular form, “the Vatican Archive,” is convenient but misleading. It suggests unity and centralization. The plural, “the Vatican archives,” better reflects the administrative complexity of the Holy See and the layered history of its record-keeping practices. The Vatican archives are a system of repositories in Vatican City and Rome. Here I wanted to begin by listing them all but instead why don’t you join me for a little stroll around Rome?
Let’s go for a walking tour. We start in the heart of Rome. You wake up in a basement (well, the prices of hotels in Rome have gone up so much that your room in the local guesthouse is well below ground level…) and make your way to the nearest bar. Un caffè, elbowing your way closer to the counter, e un cornetto, grazie, and you are on your way to Vatican City. Good news: it’s only a twenty-minute walk, because you saved on comfort but avoided the inferno of Rome’s public transport.
That brings you to Sant’Anna’s Gate. As a Swiss Guard blocks your way, you proudly flash your card and walk by, while disoriented tourists are waved away. Since the gate is staffed by a young and eager guard today, he salutes you. Yes, he actually salutes you, hand going up to the hat and all. That may be the best moment of your academic life. To bring you back to earth, at the checkpoint a few steps further, you receive a bored look as your card is checked again. It is also a reminder that it took you many long months to get that card.
One more gate to pass, and here you are in front of the famous Vatican Apostolic Archive, number one on our list of Vatican archives. You were not deceived by the entrance to the Vatican Library, just a few steps earlier; temptations resisted, you are in the right place. A warm welcome inside sets you up for a good day. A locker room, the necessary passage of every archive, and the usual checklist in your head: laptop, pencil, card, keys, water bottle, coins. Hands and pockets full, you are ready to enter… no, it is not the reading room yet because you have not requested the documents yet. You need to visit the index room first.
An elevator takes you to the third floor, but oddly enough you can see a garden at ground level from the windows (we will get back to that when it is time for a coffee break). It is a reminder of the verticality of the Vatican and of the underground vault where the documents are stored. Your first stop is the Leo XIII Index Room, named after the pope who first opened the doors of the Vatican archives to scholars. It does not take long for you to understand why this is called one of the most complex archives in the world. Finally, you find what you think you are looking for and type your request into one of the computers. The form requires a number, and it takes you a moment before, with a sense of satisfaction, you realize it must be the number of your locker key.
While waiting for the archivists to bring your files, you go to the restroom and notice a coffee machine, where you get an espresso for 40 cents. You congratulate yourself for bringing coins and look out the window at a courtyard with a view toward the windows of the Vatican Library; we will get there too, nothing to worry about.
It is time to collect the boxes from the counter. Hunched over, you carry them to your desk and dive in. Once you tune in to the rhythm and grammar of papal bureaucracy, the documents slowly reveal how the internal machinery of the Vatican worked. What sparks your interest are the letters coming from outside - from “ordinary” people from around the globe - who reached out to the Catholic hierarchy during and after the war.
Finally, a proper coffee break. You wander out into the charming inner yard you had seen earlier. Your intuition brings you to a bar. No sign, no name, you just need to know where to find it. You get a coffee and a panino, and eat them while looking at a photo of John Paul II visiting the very same bar years ago.
Back to the desk and the documents. After two hours of typing (no photos, sorry), you are actually relieved when the bell rings. Whether you want it or not, you are done here for the day. You take the boxes back to the counter and head back to the lockers.
It is lunchtime, but you have already had a sandwich at the bar, so you are ready for the next archive. You cross the courtyard and find the entrance to the Historical Archive of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, or l’Archivio storico della Sezione dei Rapporti con gli Stati della Segreteria di Stato.
Computer stations are spread over two levels. All the documents are digitized and accessible on your screen. No dust, no crumbling paper, a sting feeling of nostalgia. Pushing aside the feeling of unfulfilled desire for the haptic presence of the originals, you start browsing. In the previous archive you looked at documents concerning mostly internal matters of the Vatican and the government of the Universal Church, while here you have more comprehensive access to records on foreign relations and diplomacy: relations with governments, concordats, negotiations, reports from papal diplomats, files on countries, international organizations, and foreign-policy issues.
After an hour or so, your caffeine level drops dangerously low and there is no coffee in sight. Worry not: you did your fieldwork prep well and asked colleagues where you could get some. You wander out and, just a couple of steps away, find the Vatican fire brigade building with a coffee machine. You realize it has been your fourth coffee today, but it is just an imaginary trip, so you make it a double and gulp it down.
Ready for another archive? Just kidding. Two is one too many for one day. Normally you would spend a couple of weeks in each. As one of the archivists said, patience pays off — and it really does. So you head back to your basement.
Day 2. If you are tired of reading this and feel like it is enough that you have learned about these two archives, you are not alone; many scholars would stop right there too. And that includes myself, at least for the time being.
But let us stretch our legs. Coffee, croissant, you know the drill. Today, as you walk from Castel Sant’Angelo along the monumental Via della Conciliazione, thinking about Mussolini, who ordered the demolition of old houses to build it, you stop where the view of St Peter’s Square is best and, instead of admiring the impressive dome of the basilica, look right: you are standing in front of the Historical Archive of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (l’Archivio storico della Congregazione per le Chiese orientali). There you will find documents on the relations between the Holy See and the Eastern Catholic Churches.
To continue the trip, go toward St Peter’s Square. Stop for a moment in the middle of the square to admire a mind-bending perspective trick engineered by Bernini: the rows of columns perfectly align, creating the optical illusion of a single, continuous row. Then turn left and cross the colonnade to find the entrance to the Archive of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (l’Archivio storico della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede). There are no signs or plaques on the building, not even a name on the intercom. These archives are commonly known as the Archive of the Inquisition (and Index) and will be of interest if you research theology, heresy, and morality.
Now head toward the Tiber River to find the Propaganda Fide Historical Archives of the Dicastery for Evangelization, or l’Archivio storico de Propaganda Fide della Congregazione per l’evangelizzazione dei popoli. This archive preserves the central administrative records of the Vatican office responsible for Catholic missions around the world. Among the most important materials are correspondence between Rome and missionaries and reports from bishops, apostolic vicars, religious orders, and nuncios. It also contains files from the Church’s news agency, Agenzia Fides, including thousands of photographs from the history of Catholic missions. For the post-World War II period, one of the most important parts of the collection is the documentation of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine.
You could keep going, as the Vatican archives also include the historical archives of congregations, dicasteries, offices, and tribunals. There are also other archival collections hosted in Vatican City, for instance ArchEM, or the Multimedia Editorial Archive, which preserves historical editions of L’Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of Vatican City.
To close the walk, head to St. Angelo Bridge to watch the sun set on the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. If the view makes you feel a bit sentimental, think about historian Owen Chadwick, who, reflecting on the quest faced by historians upon the opening of the Vatican archives, noted: “Since feelings roused by religions run as deep in the human soul as passions roused by national conflict, the events of the past live in the present.”
Owen Chadwick, Catholicism and History: The Opening of the Vatican Archives, Cambridge University Press, 1978, p. 1.
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