Digital Project

The CHRI collaborates to develop innovative and open-access online research tools that facilitate the study of Catholic history.

The Catholic Historical Research Library

The Catholic Historical Research Library is an open-access, curated, and growing compilation of newspapers, journals, and books to facilitate the study and understanding of the Catholic Church. Initial titles complement the archival collections at the Catholic Religious Archives at Boston College, and, with time, publications will also include the histories of the institutions, people, and religious congregations identified in the Catholic Almanac project.

The CHRI partners with archives and other institutions to loan portable scanners to digitize content for this open-access database. To learn more, contact chri@bc.edu. 

Catholic Almanac Project

The Catholic Almanac Project is an open-access database based on data extracted from the U.S. Catholic almanacs of the 19th century. Each almanac includes a list of all the institutions in each of the country’s dioceses from that year – every place of worship, education institution, and hospital, orphanage, and asylum – as well as a list of some of the people who worked there. The database provides a macro- and micro-level view of the Catholic Church as it grew in the United States. To learn more, contact chri@bc.edu.

Romero Project

In collaboration with the Archdiocese of San Salvador, the Romero Project will provide open access to a curated collection of the papers of St. Oscar Romero. To learn more, contact chri@bc.edu.