Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center
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The Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center (PAHRC) was created in 1989 by His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua to collect, preserve, and make available to the public the historical sources illuminating the growth of Catholicism in the United States. PAHRC's collection includes records that document the history of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well as the collections of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, the oldest Catholic historical society in the country. The bulk of materials from the latter collection, specifically printed materials including newspapers, journals, and pamphlets published in the United States, span the mid 19th to the early 20th century. Archdiocesan records include the sacramental registers (baptismal and marriage records) of those parishes located within the present Archdiocese since their founding. PAHRC provides researchers with various services including historical research assistance, genealogical research, an excellent reference library, and photoduplication of approved research materials.
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Address and Contact Info
Address: 100 E. Wynnewood Rd., Wynnewood, PA 19096-3001
Phone: (610)-667-2125
Fax: (610)-667-2730
Email: pahrc89@gmail.com
Website: http://www.pahrc.net/ Includes an online catalog
Director: Joseph J. Casino
Hours and Usage Restrictions
The center is open Monday through Friday from 9:00-4 pm.
Access to American Catholic Historical Society collections is practically unlimited and major portions of the Seminary and Archdiocesan materials are open to researchers. Access restrictions to Seminary and Archdiocesan records apply to all unpublished materials after 1920; however, these materials may be opened to researchers with special permission.
Collection Summary
The Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center collects printed materials, manuscript collections, and audiovisual materials relating to the history of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. These materials include the records of numerous Archdiocesan offices, the official correspondence of all of the bishops and archbishops of Philadelphia up to the present, as well as records from the 41st International Eucharistic Congress held in Philadelphia in 1976 and Pope John Paul II’s visit in October 1979. Archdiocesan records also include the sacramental registers of those parishes located within the present Archdiocese since their founding.
PAHRC also houses the collections of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, as well as some records from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. ACHS records include printed, visual, and ephemeral materials that document institutions, associations, societies, religious orders, and parishes located within the Archdiocese as well as those of other dioceses located in the Mid-Atlantic region. The ACHS collection also includes 19th and 20th- century Catholic newspapers, journals, and pamphlets published throughout the United States, as well as the manuscripts of prominent Catholic clergy and laity. Other published materials in the collection include catechisms, devotional works, liturgical books, and sacred music.
PAHRC’s image collection contains photographs and other visual materials documenting Catholic clergy, laity, and institutions of the Archdiocese. Two notable collections include the Packard and Butler lithograph collection as well as the Robert and Theresa Halvey Photograph Collection. The latter collection includes 100,000 photographs (including negatives) that Robert Halvey took for the Catholic Standard & Times, the official Archdiocesan newspaper, from 1935 to 1999 as well as photographs for Catholic institutions that Halvey took as a freelance photographer.
The Museum is largely comprised of Catholic artifacts, and includes the Cardinal Krol Memorabilia collection and the Museum of Religious Americana. The latter collection contains about 400 items of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish origin.
In order to support study of the collections, PAHRC maintains a library with both reference and research materials, including Archdiocesan and National Catholic directories, Philadelphia City directories, and encyclopedias. Secondary sources include scholarship relating to the history of Catholicism in the United States as well as social and cultural histories of the various ethnicities that shaped the American Catholic Church.
Usage Discussion
Suggestions for approaching the material:
Housing and getting by for less in the area:
