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Christus Rex Information Service
The Holy Father told the 20,000 pilgrims present that, in Tunisia, he "found an ecclesial community which, indebted to the work of great pastors such as St. Cyprian and St. Augustine, is rooted in a land that witnessed many of the martyrs of the first centuries...Praying at the very places of their martyrdom" during the visit to the Roman amphitheater "was for me a cause for great emotion."
"My visit, which coincided with the 'in albis' Sunday, wanted to confirm believers in their baptismal commitment and in their witness of brotherhood and service in the midst of the Tunisian people. Likewise I wanted to encourage the commitment of Christians in favor of man and the integral development of society." And he added: "I noted also the cultural exchanges and religious dialogue between Christians and Muslims that, for years, has been of notable importance."
John Paul II recalled that in Tunisia he was also able to greet "Christians who live in other parts of Maghreb: Morocco, Algeria and Libya, to whom, through their bishops, I wanted to show the affectionate closeness of the Successor of Peter, transmitting to them the message of hope of the African synod contained in the Apostolic Exhortation 'Ecclesia in Africa.'"
"I entrust to Our Lady of Carthage, patroness of the diocese of Tunis," concluded the pope, "the future of the Christian communities of North Africa, so that she may guide them along their path toward the Risen Christ, sustain them in their trials and comfort them with her maternal protection."
The early papal writings were safeguarded in the "Scrinium Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae," a cylindrical container for preserving papers, maps, etc., which usually travelled with the popes. Given the fragility of papyrus, which was used as papal stationary up to the end of the 11th century, and the frequent transfers and travels of pontifical documents, almost all archival material prior to Innocent III (1198-1216) was lost. The most important part of the archives established by Paul V was, in fact, the registers starting with Innocent III.
Pope Urban VIII (1623-1644) brought some of the registers and books of the Apostolic Chamber from Avignon to Rome. Alexander VII (1655-1667) added correspondence from the Secretariat of State. In 1783 all remaining material in Avignon was brought to Rome and in 1798 the archives of Castel Sant'Angelo were transferred to the Apostolic Palace.
In 1810, by order of Napoleon, the archives of the Holy See were brought to Paris: they were returned to Rome between 1815-1817, though great losses were suffered. A great amount of material was transferred in 1892 from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican archives.
In recent years the Secret Vatican Archives have come to include the modern part of the archives of the Secretariat of State as well as those of the Secretariat of Briefs, the Roman Rota, diverse congregations, the Apostolic Palace, Vatican Council II, various nunciatures and material from several of Rome's patrician families.
Pope Leo XIII wrote in 1884 that the Vatican Archives "serve first and foremost the Roman Pontiff and his curia, that is, the Holy See." Four years earlier, he had opened the archives to scholars for consultation and they thus became the world's most important historical research center.
Linked to the archives is the Vatican School of Paleography, Diplomatics and Archive Sciences, established by Leo XIII with his Motu proprio "Fin dal principio" of May 1, 1884. Diplomatics is the study of medieval diplomas and charters.
The Vatican Secret Archives compile and inventory material and periodically issue publications on its collections. The staff sees to the maintenance and safety of the archives' contents, as well as to the availability of documents to the hundreds of scholars and researchers from around the world who annually visit.
Fr. Josef Metzler, prefect, explained that the Vatican Secret Archives does not have a numerical total for its documents, maps, volumes, etc. Rather, it measures its contents in kilometers of shelving - and there are 100 kilometers.
Three laboratories are linked with the Vatican Secret Archives: the restoration and preservation of officials seals, the restoration, binding or re-rebinding of documents and volumes, and the photographic lab. The latter is in the process of microfilming all the Vatican registers, not only to have duplicates in the event of a lost original but also to allow scholars to consult documents without harm to the original.
In 1994, the latest year for which statistics are available, the prefecture of the archives filled over 2,000 requests for archive information, photocopies and microfilms of documents. That same year 1,554 passes were issued for daily, temporary or annual study. In addition to daily work, the scientific personnel participate in conferences and meetings and some of them teach at the school of paleography.
Cardinal Luigi Poggi is the archivist of Holy Roman Church. Fr. Josef Metzler, O.M.I., is the prefect of the secret archives and Fr. Sergio Pagano is the vice prefect. They are assisted by a staff of 23. Cardinal Poggi and Fr. Metzler head the board of directors of the school of paleography. Frs. Metzler and Pagano are the director and assistant director of the teaching staff.
He received in audience Bishop Slawoj Leszek Glodz, military ordinary of Poland.
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