CHIROGRAPH

The centuries-old care for the stewardship of the acts and documents concerning the governance of the universal Church, together with the commitment to the development and dissemination of culture, are the characteristic features of the activity of the Vatican Archives and Library. Continuing the work already begun by my Predecessors, ever since the Scrinium of the Church of Rome, the two Institutions are today called to make this precious patrimony accessible.

Therefore, in pursuit of the aim of contributing to the most effective management of their activities and to the conservation of their assets, having acquired the appropriate information and competent opinions

I DECREE

that the spaces available to the Apostolic Archive and the Apostolic Library be expanded, using part of the building and its surroundings that in the extraterritorial area of Saint John Lateran houses the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary, according to the delimitation attached hereto.

To this end, the Institutions concerned will collaborate to carry out the work, according to their respective competences, observing the observing the provisions in force, the procedures and the directives that will be necessary for an orderly execution of this indispensable work that the See of Peter places at the service of the Church and the world of culture.

At the same time, I decree that a Commission composed of representatives of the Secretariat of State, the Vatican Apostolic Archive and the Vatican Library be established to determine the categories of documents to be transferred to the new rooms. The Commission will be able to operate immediately, in parallel with the work being carried out.

The provisions are to be considered stable and valid from the moment of publication in “L'Osservatore Romano”.

From the Vatican, 29 October 2024

FRANCIS