DePaul: New Collection of Catholic, Vincentian History Goes Online

In the wake of the Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, The Vincentian Studies Institute of DePaul University made a separate Catholic-related announcement.

DePaul—which includes a community of 25,000 students and is the largest Catholic university in the U.S.—announced Tuesday the launch of a new online research archive that will provide access to an array of historical documents on the Catholic Reformation, with special focus on Vincentian history. 

“DePaul University’s collaborative support of this research highlights its role as the premier international center for Vincentian studies,” said the Rev. Edward R. Udovic, C.M., DePaul’s senior executive for university mission. “We believe it will be a valuable resource for both historians and others interested in the history of the Church and the Vincentians.”

Founded 30 years ago by the provinces of the Congregation of the Mission and Daughters of Charity in the United States, the Vincentian Studies Institute is the premier international resource for Vincentian Studies.  

Sponsored byDePaul University in Chicago since 2007, the institute engages in research, publications and continuing education activities by expanding the availability of Vincentian history beyond traditional formats through the World Wide Web. 

The latest website was created by Alison Forrestal of the National University of Ireland, Galway, and Felicia Roşu of Leiden University, Netherlands. The first materials posted there are a collection of sources relating to Vincent de Paul and the Congregation of the Mission—also known as the Vincentians—from the 1620s to the 1670s.

These are drawn from the archives of the Holy See, especially from the archives of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide in Rome. 

The material will be invaluable to specialist researchers, according to DePaul officials. It also contains information that will be of interest to the general public on topics such as the Vincentian missions in North Africa and Madagascar, jurisdictional disputes, political relationships and popular devotions.

The collection features summaries of individual documents, and it will eventually house transcriptions of particularly valuable correspondence, reports and minutes. More documents will be added soon. 

The creation of the website and the publication of the collection are the fruits of a project first funded by the Irish Research Council but now supported by DePaul University, Leiden University and the National University of Ireland, Galway. 

Editor's Note: The above information was provided by DePaul University.