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The Scottish Catholic Archives preserves, selects and makes available the archives of the Catholic Church in Scotland and abroad. Holding over 800 years of documentary evidence of the Catholic Church in Scotland and the wider world, the Scottish Catholic Archives is a major resource for understanding Scottish and European history. From letters of Mary, Queen of Scots; baptismal records for individuals such as Arthur Conan Doyle; and papers relating to Oscar Wilde, the collections held relate to five continents and are written in at least 12 languages. Our holdings include parish registers and other sources which provide valuable family history and genealogical information. Readers are welcome to consult our resources at our research centre, Columba House in Edinburgh. The Scottish Catholic Archives is a National Agency of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland.

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Scottish Catholic Archives at Columba House to close as of Monday 8 April 2013 download the press release here

Scottish Catholic Historical Association Conference 2012 - The Life of Thomas Innes, 10 November 2012
The Scottish Catholic Historical Association have just released information about the 21st Annual Conference. It will explore the life of Father Thomas Innes, one time principal of the Scots College Paris, and historian. Further details can be found here.
24 September 2012

Fully funded doctoral studentship - The Scots College Paris
The Scots College Paris provided education for Scots training for the priesthood, a tradition that reinforced an intimate cultural relationship between France and Scotland which continues to the present.  A doctoral project dealing with some aspect of the period 1793 to 1945 is now proposed to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the founding of the College.  Starting in September 2012, this fully funded doctoral studentship at the University of Edinburgh School of History, Classics and Archaeology is a collaboration between the Scottish Catholic Archives in Edinburgh, the Fondation Catholique Ecossaise and the University of Edinburgh.
22 February 2012

Medical History Resources
The diversity of medical history materials held at the Scottish Catholic Archives and the ways in which they will enhance and bring a better understanding of the Catholic Church’s involvement in health and medical care are pivotal in measuring the importance of the project collections in the context of the study of the history of medicine.
7 February 2012

Canonical Conundrum
Archive staff recently discovered the following rather complicated tangle of affairs in one of our correspondence collections. Perhaps a solution to someone’s family research problems? The item is contained in the Blairs Letter collection - a collection of 46,500 items of correspondence dating from 1627 until 1887. The scope of the collection is vast, with royal correspondence and local church administration.
7 February 2012

Manuscript music sources
The Scottish Catholic Archives holds over 500 manuscript music sources dating from the 18th century.
4 January 2012

The Scottish-Canadian Tradition - a a shared Catholic heritage
An introduction to the shared Catholic heritage of Scotland and Canada with a selected source list is now available.
3 January 2012

Twitter and Facebook
We have now joined the social media world. www.twitter.com/ScotCathArch and www.facebook.com/ScottishCatholicArchives  Regular updates delivered!
3 January 2012