Library Guides: Catholic Studies: Primary Sources

Image and Multimedia Collections

These resources aid in locating images of works of art or other artifacts, films, scores, and records of artistic or musical performances.

International Mission Photography Archive
“Preserving the Steadfastness of your Faith”: Catholics in the Early American Republic
This exhibition displays examples of American Catholicism expressed through (mostly) printed texts from 1783 through the early 1840s.

Primary Documents

Primary documents provide direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art. Genres include historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, audio and video recordings, speeches, and art objects.

Catholic Newspapers
Catholic newspapers are largely held in microformat in the Hesburgh Library Microforms collection, however some important nineteenth century titles are in print in the Special Collections, notably The Jesuit, one of the first American Catholic newspapers, first issued in 1829, and a precursor to the Boston Pilot, the longest continuously published American Catholic newspaper.
Catholic Pamphlets
The Catholic pamphlets collection consists of more than 5000 pamphlets by various Roman Catholic authors, including John F. Noll, Leo A. Pursley, Fulton J. Sheen, John A. O'Brien, and Daniel Lord. The majority were published in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. A significant portion of the collection has been digitized, and can be found through the Notre Dame Catalog.
Parish Histories
The Parish histories collection seeks to document local history of parishes, and also includes diocesan histories and commemorations of all kinds relating to parish life. These works are located in the Hesburgh Library, and all records in the Notre Dame Catalog have the note "parish histories."

Professional Organizations and Associations

Professional organizations help established members work together to define its problematics and research focii. They help members new to a profession and students conducting research in its areas to understand the broad shape of the field.

Catholic Research and Resources Alliance (CRRA) This link opens in a new window
Website of the Catholic Research Resources Alliance (CRRA), a not-for-profit membership alliance colllaborating to provide global access to Catholic research resources in the Americas, especially rare, unique, and uncommon materials held by libraries and archives in North America. Main collecting themes focus on significant aspects of the Catholic tradition, including social action, education, Vatican II, men's and women's religious orders, and missions. Major features of the website include: The Catholic Portal, containing bibliographic records for rare and unique member-held resources; and, Catholic Newspapers Online, a product of the Catholic Newspapers Program whose goal is to "provide access to all extant Catholic newspapers in North America."

Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism
The Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism brings together scholars from history, theology, women’s studies, sociology, religious studies, American studies, and English to interpret the American Catholic experience.

Exhibits

Exhibits are objects or collections of objects on public display in an art gallery or museum or other institutional space.

“Preserving the Steadfastness of your Faith”: Catholics in the Early American Republic
This exhibition displays examples of American Catholicism expressed through (mostly) printed texts from 1783 through the early 1840s.