Administrative Record Group
Arranged alphabetically by subject:

• Corporate Records - 57.6 lin. ft.
• Religious Records - 26.4 lin. ft.

  2580 files

• 160 Collections

Artifact Collection (1850- )
Arranged alphabetically by City/State and then by subject
In the process of being digitally photographed and catalogued.

• 153 items processed

Blueprint Collection (19^th and 20^th Century)
Arranged alphabetically by City/State and then by institution (church, mission, monastery, convent or school)

• Mechanical Drawings / Architectural Drawings / Renderings
• Patents (2)
  
• Maps (495O)

  313 processed prints

Institutional Records (1796-2000)
Records of Franciscan (open, closed or relinquished) churches, missions, friaries, convents and schools
Arranged alphabetically by City/State then by institution name Active Institutions

1485 records

3469 records

944 lin. ft.

OFM Reference Library
Arranged using the decimal classification system
336 lin.ft.

Manuscripts and Personal Papers (1880-2000 )
Indexed alphabetically by friars last name, then by subject
498 records

Manuscript Records
20.6 lin. ft.
Personal Papers
78.10 lin. ft.

Photograph Collection (1860-2000 )
Arranged alphabetically by city/state then by institution (church, mission, monastery, convent, school or by friars last name

• Negatives (unprocessed)
• Glass Plate Negatives (60)
• Prints (c.100,000)
• Slides - Lantern slides (unprocessed)
• Photograph Albums (265)
• Half Tones (4000+)
• Post Cards (unprocessed, arranged in alpha)

Annals Of the Province: Chronicles
Around the Province: defunct
Franciscan Herald and Forum: defunct
Lesser Brothers: defunct
Third Order and Forum: defunct
Sacred Heart Province Newsletter, changed to Friar Enquirer

- presently known as Minor Matters
Senior Friar Talk

Audio Cassettes (498)
Microfilm (710 rolls)
Motion Pictures (90 - 35mm, 16mm, and 8mm film)
Reel-to-reels (unprocessed)
Video Collection (107 VHS Cassettes and 2 BETA)

China Collection
An artificial collection of books, personal papers, diaries, and memoirs. Also see the Franciscan Missionary Union Special Collection and the Manuscript Collection.

Franciscan Herald Press
The FHP was owned and operated by the Sacred Heart Province from 1920-1990. This artificial collection consists of publications arranged both by author and title. In addition to the publications are the 4000+ halftones (relief print blocks or wood cuts constructed from various materials such as: linoleum, copper, etc.) Arranged alphabetically by author or title

Franciscan Missionary Union
An artificial collection consisting primarily of administrative correspondence, reports and minutes. Also, preserved are letters from Franciscan missionaries to China dating back to 1881. Arranged alphabetically by subject, city/state or last names 10.8 lin. ft.

Native American Missions
An artificial collection consisting of 43 rolls of microfilm on the Ottawa, Chippewa (Ojibway), and Menominee Tribes. It also includes early records, from the mid-1800s, of the California and Arizona Indian missions in the care of the Franciscan Friars prior to the formation of the sister province of Santa Barbara. (SBP was canonically established in 1915) Microfilmed and arranged alphabetically by city/state, last name or subject NOTE: In 1984 this microfilm project was developed in conjunction with Marquette University to collect any and all information on the Native American missions in care of the Franciscan Friars of the Sacred Heart.

Guides: Bantin, Philip C. Guide to Catholic Indian Mission and School Records in Midwest Repositories. Milwaukee: Marquette University, 1984. 43 rolls

Secular Franciscan Order
(1863-2000 with omissions)
In 1998 the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart Archives was appointed the official repository of the Secular Franciscan Order previously known as the Third Order. It consists of 1049 indexed files. Arranged alphabetically by city/state, last name or subject 42.9 lin. ft.

This collection of oral histories is available only in the Franciscan Archives. They are on VHS tape and can be played in a VCR on the premises. The questions were designed specifically for each individual friar according to his ministry, experience or knowledge. Each tape runs between 30:00 and 60:00 minutes long. Most of this collection is unedited. Special access to these tapes must be granted by the individual friar and the Provincial and requested through the Archivist, Mrs. Denise Thuston, at thuston@TheFriars.org.

• Billig, Fr. Maynard, OFM -Seminary in Teutopolis, IL
• Buvala, Fr. Andrew, OFM - Native American Ministry
• Carlson, Fr. Juvenal, OFM - Brazil
• Doctor, Fr. John, OFM (Minister Provincial) and Capalbo, Fr. Ken, OFM (Vicar Provincial) - State of the Province Report and Interview
• Fuchs, Fr. Loran, OFM - LaSalle Expedition II
• Hahn, Fr. Bernadine, OFM - Pastoral Ministry
• Haller, Fr. Jeffery, OFM - China (partial Br. Scotus Ren - Chinese Friar)
• Hickey (Br. Jim) Collection - Tau Productions (11)
  • A Visit With Giacomo - Franciscan Convocation 1999
  • Alaska A Mission: Possible
  • Developing Healthy Community - David Couturier, OFM Cap.
  • Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart: A Brief History
  • Franciscan Volunteer Program, The
  • Instruments of Change, Heralds of Peace
  • Jerry Bleem: Reconstructing Experience Reconstructing Meaning
  • Making A Difference - St. Peter's Church in the Loop / Capital Campaign
  • Mariachi Mass: San Jose Mission
  • Mission In Africa Zaire
  • Multi-cultural Awareness with Finian McGinn
• Langheim, Fr. Albert, OFM - Cross Village History
• Paskert, Fr. Leonard, OFM - Ministry
• Ruzika, Br. Bobby Joe, OFM - Alaska
• Schott, Fr. Valerian, OFM - China
• Suding, Br. Steve, OFM - Africa
• Tau Productions - See: Hickey Collection
• Wolter, Fr. Allan, OFM - Ministry (Scholar)
• Wolter, Fr. Martin, OFM - Ministry

These records consists of corporate and religious files dating as early as 1839. The main bulk of the material is generated by the Franciscans and contain correspondence, newsletters, reports, and minutes. Additional files of intrinsic value are files created by sources other than the Provincial Offices but effect the Franciscan Province in part or as a whole. They include correspondence, fliers, pamphlets and newsletters generated by institutions such as the dioceses, outreach programs, other Religious Orders, etc.

Records are semi-restricted to scholarly researchers and open to the Provincial Ofces and their staff. Click here for a current list.

Corporate Records 57.6 lin. fl.
Religious Records 26.4 lin. ft.

For a complete index contact the Archivist, Denise Thuston, at thuston@TheFriars.org.

This artificial collection is based on art either created or acquired by the Franciscan Friars of the Sacred Heart Province. The main bulk of the art collection is sketches, line drawings and paintings in addition to three-dimensional items of various mediums. This ongoing collection contains art items from 1850 to the present day. There are more than 300 items in this collection with 160 identified and described.

Notable items such as: two paintings brought over from Germany on the S/S Rotterdam, 6' x 5' lithograph of Epilogu Totius Ordinis Seraphici P. S. Francisci (Story of the Order of St. Francis), Fr. Tom Brown's line drawings, Fr. Ed Mundwiller's sketches and the Jochem Collection of various poster-size luminaries.

160 Collections

An artifact by definition is any object made or modified by humans especially one reflecting workmanship.

The 19^th and 20^th Century artifacts are of intrinsic value to the Franciscan Archives and are collected, preserved and displayed. They include objects such as: trunks, travel bags, host iron, brass chimes, oversized Roman graduales and divine office prayer books displayed on an ornate wooden lectern stand, tailor tools, a Native American quill box, wooden missal stands, seals, reliquaries, book binding tools, Franciscan crowns, cord loom and a 1930s intercom device from the Franciscan Herald Press to name a few. The collection consists of 153 indexed and described items presently being scanned and placed on a compact disc.

*310 objects (157 unprocessed)

*This is an approximate number due to the number of storage boxes which are unprocessed in the stacks.

This 19^thand 20^th Century collection exist in part due to the work of Br. Adrian Wewer. O.F.M.. Architect of the Province. Br. Adrian trained in Germany and served the Sacred Heart Province between 1864 and 1914 designing more than 100 churches, monasteries, convents and schools throughout the United States. The entire collection consists of 488 mechanical drawings, architectural renderings, and two patents of which 313 have been identified and described. A number of the blueprints are on vellum; however, a majority of the prints are photostated, copied are found on blueprint paper. In addition to the collection are 495 various reference maps arranged in alphabetical order and thereunder chronologically for easy access.

Keep in mind our Constitutional right to protect our holdings. Any violation would be an infringement of the copyright laws.

488 blueprints, specifications, templets, artists renderings

For additional questions regarding the mechanical drawings contact the Archivist, Denise Thuston, at thuston@TheFriars.org.

These records, from 1796 to the present date, document the establishment of Franciscan churches, missions, schools, convents and friaries in AK, AR, AZ, CA, HI, IA, IL, IN, MI, MO, MN, NE, NM, OH, TN, WI as well as Africa, Brazil and China. They are divided into two subheadings of active and inactive records depending upon their status of being an open, closed, or relinquished establishment. The records consist chiefly of activities, bulletins, chronicles, clippings, correspondence, historical notes, minutes, reports, transcripts, titles, yearbooks, etc. generated by the Franciscan Friars and the people they serve. Most of the early history of the German (Polish, and Irish) immigrants under their care are found in this record group. Much of the early documents and correspondence are written in German script. They are arranged alphabetically using the decimal classification system and subdivided by more specific subject headings and thereunder filed in chronological order. It is also important to note the number of blueprints found within these files. Presently they have neither been removed from the records nor included in the index for the BLUEPRINT COLLECTION.

Parts of these records are available on microfilm, namely the files on Native American missions. They have been microfilmed on 47 rolls through a grant from Marquette University. A complete index is available on the internet or contact the Archivist, Denise Thuston, at thuston@TheFriars.org.

The records in this collection have been placed in a semi-restricted status and must be approved by the archivist for researching.

944 lin. ft.

The Order of Friars Minor Reference Library is a collection of books classified using the decimal system. These bound volumes reflect the ministry of the Franciscans, Franciscan history, and related Catholic subjects. A special note to patrons is the Catholic Directories. They date back to 1853 and are a valuable source when locating a particular priest in a specific year. The rare books (books printed before 1850) previously housed at the Provincial House in St. Louis, including the "Incunabula" (the earliest form of printed material) are preserved at Quincy University's Brenner Library.

For more information on the rare books contact Quincy University Brenner Library Special Collections at www.quincy.edu/library/services/collections/.

The collection is available to researchers, however, a complete listing is not yet available on the internet. For a complete guide to the OFM Reference Library contact the Archivist, Denise Thuston, at thuston@TheFriars.org.

336 lin. ft.

This artificial collection consists of loose and bound writings by the Franciscan friars. The history contained in the files and on the shelves represent 150 years of dedication. The manuscripts embody diaries, sermons (homilies), journals, religious writings, memoirs, brief histories, manuscripts, biographies, talks, dissertations, and addresses. The personal papers grouped in this collection are records on individual friars: active, deceased, and those who have chosen to leave the Order. These files are marked restricted and semi-restricted depending upon the status of the friar. Direct all requests and questions to the Archivist, Denise Thuston, at thuston@TheFriars.org.


504 lin. ft.

Photographic images are records judged to have enduring value and recount history in a visual sense. These collections of more than 100,000 prints are collected, preserved and divided into negatives, glass plate negatives, slide, prints, albums, halftones, postcards and rolled images of Franciscan churches, missions, monasteries and schools. The Franciscan Archives are in the process of indexing and scanning images found in our collections to be unique to our history. In the near future a few select photographs will be made available to patrons providing them the opportunity to view rare and valuable photographs on the internet.