Archives
About the collections
The collections include original and unique historical materials dating from the era of the early California missions up to contemporary times. They cover significant periods of growth, expansion, and change in both the Church and the local regions. The main types of records are: Early Records; Chancery Records; General Correspondence; Archbishops and Auxiliaries; Departments of the Archdiocese; and Special Collections.
Collection Guides
Guides to our collections are published to the Online Archive of California and with additional ones continually being added.
Digitized Collections
Audiovisual Collection: A selection of unique and original audiovisual materials from our Archives were digitized for their future preservation and made available for viewing online through the California State Library grant initiative, California Revealed.
Monitor Newspaper: The Monitor newspaper was the official publication of the Archdiocese of San Francisco from 1858 to 1984. Select issues have been digitized and made available online through the Catholic News Archive from 1871 to 1965. In addition, broken series are available for the years 1861-1888 on the Internet Archive.
Sacramental Records
The Archives do not keep sacramental registers. Please contact the parish offices directly with any inquiries about sacramental records. No central databases for baptisms, marriages, etc. exist; therefore, parish offices must be contacted directly. For the list of all parishes in the Archdiocese of San Francisco and their contact information please see the Archdiocesan Catholic Directory on pages 34 to 67. The Directory provides information about the year of establishment of each parish as well is the current territory of each parish. The Directory also lists closed parishes with information about the current location of their sacramental registers.
Click here to view the history of the first 150 years of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Location:
Saint Patrick Seminary
320 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park CA 94025
Phone: (650) 328-6502
email: [email protected]