Archives, Catholic Diocese of Charleston South Carolina

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Mission Statement

About the Archives

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, canonical, 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.

 

Brief History of the Archives

About the Archives

In 1960, the 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.

 

Diocesan History Book Available

Miscellaneous

A limited number of Catholic Diocese of Charleston: A History, 2008, are available for purchase.  The 267 page hardcover provides color-illustrated histories of the Diocese of Charleston and each of its parishes and missions.  To purchase your copy for $30 plus shipping and handling, please contact Archives.

 

Know Your Bishops

Ignatius A. Reynolds • 1798-1855
Second Bishop of Charleston, 1843-1855
Pro Religione - For Religion
Learn more at Diocesan History

What's New

• The exhibit Habits of South Carolina: A Brief History of Charleston's Nuns is now available online and onsite.

• Recently processed materials include the papers or records of the Charleston Home for Children, the Curia, the Presbyteral Council, the Pastoral Council, the Finance Council, the Building and Renovations Advisory Committee, the Priest Retirement Committee, the Investment Committee, the Loan Committee, the Office of Finance, and the Office of Matrimonial Concerns.

Last updated: 17 January 2012

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