Martyrs' Shrine Archives & Research Library

The archives and archives library are open by appointment during the months of July and August. Financial support is provided by the Malliner Charitable Foundation, Edmonton, Alberta.

THE SHRINE'S ARCHIVES (View Inventory of Shrine Archives)

The holdings of the archives span three centuries of Jesuit presence in Canada, with special attention being paid to the institutional memory of Martyrs' Shrine.

Historians and archaeologists will find the artifacts and research associated with the Jesuit mission to the Hurons (1634-1650) of great interest. This includes numerous photographs and slides relating to the history and excavations of Huronia (see "A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE SHRINE" below).

Many testimonies of cures and favours obtained through the intercession of the Martyrs are preserved in the archives. Pilgrims may discover information about their own family's association with the Shrine by examining the photographs, letters, newspaper clippings, post cards and other ephemera that have been collected during the past 80 years. These humble documents bear witness to the spread of the Kingdom of Christ in Canada.

Some of the archives most treasured items are (click on the italized words for an image):

• Martyrs' posts of Saints Brebeuf (right) and Lalemant (left), excavated from St. Ignace II.
  
• Coffin nails, of St. Jean de Brebeuf, excavated from Ste. Marie I by Fr. Denis Hegarty SJ.
  
• Papal Bull from Pope Urban VIII, 1644, original copy, designating Ste. Marie I as a pilgrimage site.
  
• Missionary chalices and ciboria from the Northern Ontario missions, 19th century.
  
• Testimonies, photographs, and x-rays relating to cures and favours obtained at the Shrine.
  
• Seventeenth century prints of the Hurons and of the Canadian Martyrs.
  
• Reliquaries and Catholic devotionals dating from the 19th century.
  
• Liturgical vestments and furnishings from the late 19th-mid 20th centuries.

THE SHRINE'S ARCHIVES LIBRARY (View Inventory of Shrine Archives Library)

The archive library contains one of the best collections of books relating to the Jesuit missions in Canada. Many of the books are rare and out of print and date back to the latter nineteenth century. The oldest book in the collection is from the sixteenth century. Researchers may find the antiquarian Jesuitica/Catholica collection from the seventeenth century of special use. Please browse the library's contents through the link above.

The Shrine's archivist also produces English re-translations of the famous Jesuit Relations, English translations of significant French works pertaining to early Jesuit missions in Canada pertaining to the 17th century missions, as well as never before published letters of Jesuit missionaries working in Ontario during the 19th century. The twenty- six volume "Early Jesuit Missions to Canada" series includes the monumental research of famous French Canadian Jesuit historians such as Fr. Lucien Campeau SJ, Fr. Rene Latourelle SJ, Fr. Lorenzo Cadieux SJ, and others. The translator of the series is Fr. William Lonc SJ, professor emeritus of physics, St. Mary's University, Halifax. The titles of the individual volumes can be found at the end of the Shrine Archives Library Catalogue link above. If you would like further information regarding these books and future volumes, or have questions concerning the Jesuit mission to the Hurons/Martyrs' Shrine, please ASK THE ARCHIVIST.

Click below for the PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY of the Shrine