The Mission of the Catholic Archives of Texas is to collect, preserve, and make available for research those records of individuals and organizations engaged in work reflecting the goals of the Catholic Church in Texas.
he Catholic Archives of Texas is nationally recognized as one of the most valuable resources for the history of the Catholic Church in the Southwest. Its records span nearly four centuries of development of the Catholic religion in the southwestern region of the United States and Northern Mexico.
The Archives was founded in 1923 under the auspices of the Texas Knights of Columbus Historical Commission. Their goal of publishing a history of Catholicism in Texas culminated in the seven-volume work Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, 1519-1936, authored by Carlos E. Castañeda of the University of Texas at Austin.
The Archives exists under the auspices of the Texas Catholic Conference and its Board of Directors, all bishops of Texas. The repository is the only archives in the United States servicing one religion for an entire state.
As the Catholic history center in Texas, the Archives’ mission is to collect, preserve and make available for research those records of individuals and organizations engaged in work reflecting the goals of the Catholic Church in Texas. The Archives cooperates closely with the Diocese of Austin, where it is located, other dioceses in Texas, and with cultural and historical institutions in the area to achieve common goals of historical preservation and interpretation.