Notre Dame, Vatican Library Agree to First-Ever 5-Year Collaboration for American Scholars
The University of Notre Dame and the Vatican Library have made an unprecedented agreement to collaborate on various projects pertaining to the two Roman Catholic entities' collections.
The five-year agreement has several parameters, including the holding of jointly sponsored academic conferences, the first of which was completed on Tuesday at Notre Dame.
"We've never had anything formal like this. Members of our faculty have utilized Vatican Library but this is the first time we've had a substantial agreement like this one," Chuck Lamphier, director of Church Affairs at Notre Dame, told The Christian Post.
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"We're currently having an exhibition of materials from the Vatican Library here on campus," Lamphier said. "We've also agreed to have an annual lecture, which will take place in Rome. A Notre Dame faculty member will give it in Rome on topics related to the Vatican Library."
Lamphier also told CP that the University and the Vatican Library are engaging in conversations over other ideas for the agreement.
"We're discussing how faculty and graduate students might have special access to materials at the Vatican Library. And we've also agreed to talk about other things that may come up from time to time," he explained.
As part of the agreement, there was an academic conference held on the campus of Notre Dame from Sunday, May 8 to Wednesday, May 10.
Titled "The Promise of the Vatican Library," featured speakers included His Eminence Monsignor Jean-Louis Bruguès who serves as archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church, professor Carmela Vircillo Franklin of Columbia University, and Historian James Hankins of Harvard University.
Lamphier told CP that the the multi-day conference had over 200 participants and representatives from Notre Dame.
"The speakers were excellent. There were a number of speakers from the Vatican Library who presented papers. And we also had many American scholars," he added.
Formally known as the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican Library was first created in the 15th century during the Renaissance time period of European history and boasts approximately 180,000 manuscripts and over 1.5 million printed books.
The library has oftentimes been the focus of conspiracy theories given the strict guidelines for access of its vast collection of documents.
