An Irish Dig...in the Vatican!!

Unknown to many of those familiar with the lovely Pontifical Irish College here in Rome, a new wealth of knowledge is now readily available in the main archives.

In a lecture in Rome this month the college's archivist, Vera Orschel, revealed to the world the hidden treasures to be found in the institution's archives.

She explained that through her cataloguing work she has stumbled upon new information that not only pertains to Ireland's relationship with the Holy See, but also matters concerning the chronicles of the nation, and all of Europe during certain phases of history.

"It's certainly taught me a lot, and now that the ... correspondence is being catalogued, we're making access by researchers, students, historians, and the public even easier," said Orschel. Stories can be derived from the large collections of correspondence and manuscripts kept on record spanning nearly 400 years of institutional history, and even more, if you count the recently rediscovered medieval documents.

The college's own material dates back to when the school's founders -- Father Luke Wadding and Cardinal Ludivico Ludovisi -- instituted the college in 1628 due to the fact that penal laws in Ireland actually forbade the education of priests.

Subsequently, despite numerous upheavals, including the French occupation of Rome and its refoundation in 1826, the college survived with its archives intact, allowing it to play host to numerous Irish priests and bishops over many generations.

In the 17th century such personalities as Eugene Callanan, the martyr St. Oliver Plunkett and James Brennan visited the college. Letters and other documents from this era have since been preserved and catalogued and transcribed -- "a painstaking job that requires a lot of patience," Orschel adds, "especially when the works are undated." Among the most important of these collections is a manuscript history of the college written in 1678 by Father James O'Reilly, as well as the entire collection of letters written by Cardinal Paul Cullen, who was the institution's rector from 1832 to 1849.

Other historical personages whose correspondence can be found in the archives include Eamon De Valera and Monsignor John Hagan, as well as Irish personalities who are lesser known outside Ireland such as Sean O Ceallaigh and Maude Gonne McBride. Orschel explains that while many of the archival letters contain simple salutations and details of agency matters (such as the arrangement of errands at the Roman Curia or the purchasing of tickets), the contents remain interesting more for the casual remarks often made outside the main subject matters. "Such remarks include descriptions of current times and of personal situations," she said.

Some of the correspondence written in the 1920s, for example, refers to the great political struggles in Ireland and to issues which informed both sides of the civil war. Other works, particularly those by rectors who represented Irish interests at the Vatican, provide great insight into how propaganda and diplomacy worked at the time, not only in Ireland, but also in Rome and Paris. Taken together, these writings offer many historical facts and observations from those Irish and international figures who lived during these key periods.

Located just down the road from the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Irish College archives is open five days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More information on visiting the archives can be found at www.irishcollege.org.

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