HOW ONE OFFICE SERVES
The Archives Office of the Diocese of Albany
One of the best kept secrets of the Diocesan Pastoral Center is The Archives Office of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany which is professionally managed by Diocesan Archivist, Mary Doehla. Mary graduated with an MA in history from NYU and has worked as an archivist in private industry and the not-for-profit sector. She was employed by the diocese in 2014 to organize and provide greater access to the archives historical content. The main purpose of the Archives Office Mary says “Is to serve our parishes when they have questions regarding organization and maintenance of records, or researching historical documents and being a point of reference for parishioners seeking sacramental documents.” While the archives is not a repository for all parish records, it does maintain some parish files, with the amount of materials varying between parishes.
The archives contains papers of the various Bishops of Albany beginning with John McCloskey, the first Bishop. Other records include Vatican documents, information related to diocesan programs and initiatives, the Diocesan Notitiae for each parish in every year since 1956, institutional records, diocesan-level records for elementary schools and high schools, parish administrative files, property documents, deeds, mortgages, bound copies of the Evangelist from 1935 to 1957 and sacramental records for institutions which have closed such as hospitals and children homes. The archives also contains historical artifacts dating back well before 1847 when the diocese was founded.
Access to sacramental records created prior to 1940 is available on request to the general public. While there are restrictions on some records imposed by Canon Law, general access to the unrestricted records is open to all. Portions of the archival collection are open to research requests from the general public. For more information about the Diocesan Archives Office, its collection or its access policy guidelines, please call 518-453-6669 or email mary.doehla@rcda.org.
