Archives

Welcome to the Diocese of Duluth Archives. The archives exists to collect, organize, preserve and document the history of the Diocese of Duluth and to support the larger Mission of the Catholic church in northeast Minnesota. Our main duty is to the bishop, our pastoral offices, and to our parishes.

We welcome inquires for genealogical and historical research in accordance with canon law, civil law and privacy issues.  At this time, we do not allow in-person, on-site research to be done in our Diocesan archives.  We try to respond to requests within 2-6 weeks.  Some larger research inquiries, may take longer.  Note:  We are a small diocese and have very little dedicated archive time.

Requests should have as much information as possible:

• Name of person(s) and dates you wish to have researched
• Parish and town where parish is located that they would have attended
• What record(s) you are looking for

Sacramental certificates would have to be requested from the parishes that hold the sacramental record book. The diocesan copies only go back to 1938. They are not issued for the purpose of genealogical research. The person requesting must be an authorized recipient.

Authorized recipients include:

• The individual named in the record (if over age 18 or an emancipated minor)
• A parent or legal guardian of the individual (if the individual is under 18)
• Officials of the Diocese of Duluth or of other Roman Catholic Dioceses
• Other parties as designated or permitted by court order, subpoena, summons, or state or federal statute
• If individual names in the record is deceased, their children or heirs may have access to the records after supplying the Archives with notarized proof that they are next of kin
• The sacramental record is over 100 years old (only individual churches may have records this old)

Requests:

Archives requests: Laurie Bisel

Sacramental record requests: Shawna Hansen

Donations:

The Diocese of Duluth Archives asks for a donation to cover the cost of time on research and queries.  The typical donation is between $15 and $25.  We will research a query even if a donation is not offered.  If we are unable to locate information about your request, it still takes time to search - usually more time than if we are able to find the information for you.  You may include a donation check with your query, payable to Diocese of Duluth and send to:

Diocese of Duluth Archives
2830 E. 4th Street
Duluth, MN  55812

Research is free for the Bishop, our Pastoral offices and to our parishes (their own parish history).  There is also no fee for individuals and tribunals seeking personal records for sacramental purposes.