The American Catholic Historical Society (ACHS) is a

historical society A historical society (sometimes also preservation society) is an organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching, and interpreting historical information or items. Originally, these societies were created as a way to help future gen ...

based at 263 South Fourth Street,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Founded in 1884, it is the oldest Catholic historical society in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The goal of the society is to collect, research, and maintain historical records relating to the contribution of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to American society and culture. The American Catholic Historical Society was founded in response to

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

's 1883

pastoral letter A pastoral letter, often simply called a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumst ...

on historical studies, '' Saepenumero considerantes''. The society was organized on July 22, 1884, received the blessing of the pope on January 10, 1886, and formally approved by the Archbishop of Philadelphia,

Patrick John Ryan Patrick John Ryan (February 20, 1831 – February 11, 1911) was an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the second Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1884 until his death in 1911. Early life and education Patrick Ryan was born in T ...

, on September 6, 1886. The Catholic Historical Research Center of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as ...

houses the society's manuscript collections.

''American Catholic Studies''

The American Catholic Historical Society issues the oldest continuously published Catholic scholarly journal in the United States, entitled ''American Catholic Studies.'' The journal was founded in 1887 as the ''Records'', and merged with ''American Catholic Historical Researches'' in 1913. The ''Researches'' had been the project of Msgr.

Andrew Arnold Lambing Monsignor Andrew Arnold Lambing, who was also known as the Rev. Dr. A. A. Lambing (February 1, 1842 – December 24, 1918), was an American Roman Catholic priest and historian. He was one of the nation's foremost priest-historians, having founded ...

and his short-lived Ohio Valley Historical Society. When that society dissolved in 1886, Martin I. J. Griffin carried on its work, and as librarian of the ACHS, oversaw its merger with the journal of the Philadelphia society. Since 1999, the journal, under its current name, has been published on a quarterly basis by

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

References

External links

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American Catholic Historical Society Manuscript Collections
{{Authority control Catholic Church in Pennsylvania Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia Villanova University Historical societies in Pennsylvania Organizations established in 1884