VATICAN ARCHIVES: ARCHIVES OF THE SECRETARY 
OF STATE. 1 
This collection now amounts to about 6000 volumes. 2 In 1656 Alexander 
VII. sent into the Archives the first papers from the office of the secretary of 
state, his example was followed by Alexander VIII. (1689-1691), 3 and the 
collection has been added to by continual papal orders for similar transfers, 
for transfers of appropriate books from other collections, and by gifts. 4 At 
the present time it contains the great bulk of the documents belonging to this 
office for the period before 1815, thus conforming to the general European 
custom that before a given date to reserve documents shall be the exception, 
whereas after it they shall be accessible only by exception. 
De Pretis inventoried the collection in what is now volume 134 of the indici. 
This inventory is of the most summary character, merely assigning to each 
volume a number, giving the extreme dates of its contents, and some such 
legend as: “ Lettere dal Nuncio di Francia ”, “ Diversi di Francia It gives 
the regular series of the secretary’s office; first the nunciature, or correspond¬ 
ence with nuncios and legates, divided into 21 groups, 20 according to the 
countries or provinces, in which they resided, and 1 of special missions of 
peace; then the letters of cardinals; of bishops and prelates; of princes and 
persons of title; of individuals ; and of soldiers. This inventory has been cor¬ 
rected to 1905. Missing volumes are enumerated at the end of each collection, 
and are sometimes checked in the list. In cases where they have been trans¬ 
ferred to other collections this is sometimes mentioned and sometimes not. 
In the case of additions, volumes are usually placed somewhere near their 
natural position by means of internumbering. The provenance of such vol¬ 
umes is frequently, but not always, given. The collection is indexed chrono¬ 
logically in indici 168 - 184 , by Garampi, but many volumes have been added 
since this work was done, and it is therefore incomplete. 
The office of secretary of state belongs to the modern age, being the most 
important of those developed to meet the needs of increasing business, brought 
to the papacy, as to all governments, by the growing complexities of life. Its 
origin is found in the creation in 1487, by Innocent VIII., of a secretarius 
domesticus. After this date, however, the chancery continued to conduct some 
diplomatic correspondence, and several volumes of bulls contain instructions. 5 
1 Dom R. Ancel, O. S. B., “ La Secretairerie Pontificate sous Paul V.”, in Revue des 
Questions Historiques, LXXIX. 408-470; Giovanni Carga, “ Informatione del Secre- 
tario e Secretaria di Nostro Signore et di tutti gli Offitii che da quella dipendono ”, 
1574, Urbin. 854 , ff. 29-57, and published by Laemmer, Monumenta Vaticana, app. II. 
See also Urbin. 859 , ff. 72-93; Alfred Cauchie, Mission aux Archives Vaticanes; Rap¬ 
port a M. le Ministre de I’Interieur et de I’lnstruction Publique (Brussels, 1892), pp. 
24-27. See also P. Richard, “ Origines et Developpement de la Secretairerie d’Rtat 
Apostolique, 1417-1823 ”, in Revue d’Histoire Ecclesiasiique, XI. 56-72, 505-529, and 
728 - 754 . . 
3 Hinojosa, Los Despachos, pp. xliv-xlv. 
3 Ibid., pp. xxvii-xxviii. 
4 De Pretis, Indice 134 , notes such additions, passim. Also Hinojosa, Los Despa¬ 
chos , pp. xxvii-xxviii. 
5 P. Richard, “ Origines des Nonciatures Permanentes ”, in Revue d’Histoire Eccle¬ 
siastique, VII. 333 - 334 - 
52 
