The Diocese of Charleston Archives’ prime objectives are to serve the administrative needs of the diocese and to promote a wider understanding of the Roman Catholic Church by making some of the Archives holdings visible and accessible to the general public. Professional archivists and trained staff collect, preserve, and make available non-current diocesan records of permanent administrative, legal, fiscal, and historic value as well as records of other institutions, personal papers, and publications documenting the history of the Roman Catholic Church within diocesan boundaries.

In 1960, diocesan Chancellor Monsignor Joseph L. Bernardin proposed the organization of a diocesan archives. For the next fifteen years, seminarians devoted their summers to arranging and cataloging a 150-year accumulation of the diocese’s documentary records. The young chancellor later became Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago, an ardent supporter of archives, and the first episcopal moderator for the Association of Catholic Diocesan Archivists.

Today, we continue to arrange, describe, protect and preserve the diocese’s rich documentary heritage while making the records accessible in accordance with universally accepted archival principles and the norms of church law.

The Archives’ holdings span from 1727 to the present and include the records and papers of the twelve bishops of Charleston, diocesan offices, agencies, institutions, organizations, programs, and individuals. Among these are records pertaining to the Chancery, parishes, clergy, men and women religious, schools, cemeteries, hospitals, social services, buildings and properties.

In addition to original materials, the Archives keeps a small library of reference works to support research in the diocesan archives.

Common types of primary sources include: