Dark Mysteries of the Vatican

Vatican Archives Chronology

This chronology is from Wikipedia, “Vatican Secret Archives” at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Secret_Archives.

1883-Pope Leo XIII opened archives dated 1815 or earlier to nonclerical scholars.

1924-Documents opened to the end of the pontificate of Gregory XVI (1846).

1966-Documents opened from the pontificate of Pius IX (1846-78).

1978-Documents opened from the pontificate of Leo XIII (1878-1903).

1985-Documents opened from the pontificates of Pius X (1903-14) and Benedict XV (1914-22).

2002-Pope John Paul II took the extraordinary step of making available, beginning in 2003, some of the documents from the Historical Archives of the Secretariat of State (Second Section), which pertain to the Vatican ’s relations with Germany during pontificate of Pius XI (1922-39).

JUNE 2006-Pope Benedict XVI authorized opening of all the Vatican Archives for the pontificate of Pope Pius XI.