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P.O. Box 13124, Capitol Station
Austin TX 78711 
Phone: 512/476-6296
Fax: 512/476-3715
E-mail: archives@txcatholic.org  
 

Services
Staff
Contact Info
Hours
Duplicating Materials
Publications

Donations
Donations and Gifts

CATHOLIC ARCHIVES OF TEXAS

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RESOURCES
Resources Overview
Manuscripts Collection
Corporate Records
Personal Papers
Photograph Collection
Microfilm Collection
Rare Books, Map and Artifact Collection
Kasner Reference Library
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections(NUCMC)
Texas Catholic Historical Society
Catholic Southwest: A Journal of History and Culture

Sacramental Records

Hours
Monday-Friday, By appointment only, call Archivist at (512) 476-6296

Mailing Address
P.O. Box 13124, Capitol Station, Austin, TX 78711

 
Archives Staff
Susan Eason - Archivist
Eric J. Hartmann - Assistant Archivist (Texas Knights of Columbus grant)
volunteers

Duplicating Materials
Price list is available for cost of duplication of documents and photographs.

Donations and Gifts
Gifts and donations of historical materials pertaining to Catholics in Texas and the Southwest will gladly be accepted. Contributions are tax-deductible. Volunteers to assist with archival processing are welcome.

Overview of the Catholic Archives of Texas
The Catholic Archives of Texas is nationally recognized as one of the most valuable resources for the history of the Catholic Church in the Southwest. Its records span nearly four centuries of development of the Catholic religion in the southwestern region of the United States and Northern Mexico.
 

The Archives was founded in 1923 under the auspices of the Texas Knights of Columbus Historical Commission. Their goal of publishing a history of Catholicism in Texas culminated in the seven-volume work Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, 1519-1936, authored by Carlos E. Castañeda of the University of Texas at Austin.

The Archives exists under the auspices of the Texas Catholic Conference and its Board of Directors, all bishops of Texas. The repository is the only archives in the United States servicing one religion for an entire state.

As the Catholic history center in Texas, the Archives' mission is to collect, preserve and make available for research those records of individuals and organizations engaged in work reflecting the goals of the Catholic Church in Texas. The Archives cooperates closely with the Diocese of Austin, where it is located, other dioceses in Texas, and with cultural and historical institutions in the area to achieve common goals of historical preservation and interpretation.

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Texas Knights of Columbus Historical Commission founders on the steps of the Main Building at St. Edward's University, Austin, 1926.

Resources Overview
Records and collections stored at the Archives are significant for administrative and historical reasons. Holdings of the Catholic Archives of Texas include records of the Texas Catholic Conference and the Texas Knights of Columbus and its Historical Commission, Texas Catholic Historical Society, and religious associations, societies and Catholic clubs in Texas; papers of Paul J. Foik, William H. Oberste, Sam Houston, Charles S. Taylor, Robert S. Weddle, Francis Bouchu; personal papers and biographical files of the bishops and clergy in Texas; dioceses and parish collections; documents dealing with various religious orders formed or stationed in the state; and newspapers, photographs, sacramental records on microfilm, Texana and Catholic books, and artifacts relating to the history of the Catholic Church in Texas.
 
 

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Eighteenth-century sacramental records from Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Manuscripts Collection
More than 440 linear feet including Mexican and Spanish Manuscripts, 1519-1881, which contain records from the Archivo General y Público de la Nación in Mexico City and Spanishdocuments found in American repositories.

Manuscritos de los Conventos concern the history of Mexican religious orders and their missionary activities in Texas. The group consists of records from: Archivo de la Catedral de San Fernando in San Antonio, 1703-1880; Archivo de la Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Paso del Rio del Norte and Archivo de la Catedral de Ciudad Juárez, (El Paso area), 1730-1899; and Archivo de la Iglesia de San Augustín de Laredo, 1767-1989.

Episcopal (i.e., Bishops) Collection, Diocesan, Parish, Clergy, Religious Orders and Catholic Institutions manuscripts are growing collections at the Archives.


 

Corporate Records
Growing collections of Texas Catholic Conference (1963-), Texas Knights of Columbus(1904-), Catholic newspapers and Religious Associations, Societies and Clubs include 500 linear feet of mainly primary research materials.


Personal Papers
Sixty linear feet of private papers of people involved in the activities of Catholic Church in Texas. Correspondence, manuscripts, wills and deeds of Rev. William H. Oberste and Rev. Paul J. Foik, both involved in work of the Texas Knights of Columbus Historical Commission and establishment of the Archives. Papers of Sam Houston (1838-1860) and Charles S. Taylor (1828-1868) regarding the Texas Revolution, Civil War, and Mexican-American relations on the border. Some personal correspondence and administrative records of Texas bishops: Laurence J. FitzSimon (1946-1957), Louis J. Reicher (1948-1986), Vincent M. Harris (1878-1985), and John E. McCarthy (1944-).

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Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo), ca. 1860-1868.

 

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Sisters of the Incarnate Word and 
Blessed Sacrament from Victoria, 
Texas, ca. 1900.

 

Photograph Collection
70 linear feet of prints and negatives from 1860s to present, documenting Catholic clergy and religious who served in Texas, some laity and fraternal organizations. Many photographs are associated with manuscript collections and Texas Knights of Columbus Records. Other record groups with photographs include the Bishops of Texas Collection, Clergy Collection, Parish Collection, and Religious Orders Collection. 


Microfilm Collection
Contains over 20,000 microfilm feet of Texas Catholic Newspapers , Sacramental and Catholic School Records from the dioceses of Austin, Brownsville, and Victoria, scrapbooks and manuscripts. Microfilmed sacramental records from the 1840s for the early German, Czech, Polish, Irish and Italian settlements are included.


Rare Books, Map, and Artifact Collection
Collection of vestments, religious objects, personal memorabilia, maps, and art objects reflecting changing history of Catholic Church and community in Texas. Rare examples of 16th century family Bible and first sacramental registers of Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Frelsburg (starting 1847). 

Kasner Reference Library
Over 2000 books and periodicals serving researchers as reference material on Catholics and Texas history and culture.


Publications
Guide to the Spanish and Mexican Manuscript Collection at the Catholic Archives of Texas. Compiled by Dedra S. McDonald, edited by Kinga Perzynska.  Catholic Archives of Texas, 1994.
Available for $15.00 (postage included) from the Catholic Archives of Texas.

Guide to the Records of the Texas Catholic Conference. Compiled by Margaret Schlankey, edited by Kinga Perzynska and Susan Eason. Occasional Publications No. 1.  Texas Catholic Historical Society, Austin, Texas 1998.
Available for $10.00 (postage included) from the Texas Catholic Historical Society.

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Revised: 25 March 2009
For comments or suggestions, contact archives@txcatholic.org