Changes in the Vatican Archive

The Vatican Secret Archives, now called the Vatican Apostolic Archives, had been headed since 1997 by the Barnabite Sergio Pagano (* 1948), who was consecrated bishop in 2007. The new prefect is the Augustinian priest Rocco Ronzani (* 1978) from the ‘Augustinianum’, a patristic scholar who was previously responsible for the archives of the Italian Augustinian Province. Pagano remains in the Vatican and also becomes Assessor of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.

According to the new curia regulations, the mandate of clerics ends after five years or less, which makes candidacies much less attractive. Hence the long search for a successor.

The Vatican Archives are one of the most important scientific centres in the world. The archive has suffered greatly under Covid - especially the researchers who depended on the archive for their qualification work. There was a lot of catching up to do, but space is limited, making access difficult, especially for researchers from abroad.

The service is very commendable, some things are much easier than they used to be, but there is no doubt that the thin staffing levels are a problem. Permanent appointments are virtually non-existent, which discourages young historians.

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Category: Roman notes