Archives

The Archives is the repository for all available records pertaining to the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The collections include documents and letters that belonged to former bishops, beginning with Bishop Loras (1839-1858). The Archives’ collections are open for scholarly research given prior request and approval.

Some of the items found in our collection include:

• Administrative records of various Archdiocese offices
• Blueprints/Architectural renderings of churches and schools
• Parish histories
• Mt. St. Bernard Seminary Records
• Photos of churches, schools, colleges, rectories, convents, priests, institutions, episopal residences
• Various liturgical artifacts
• Information on historical properties once owned by the Archdiocese
• Information on the Bishops and Archbishops of the archdiocese
• Original Bishop Loras letters
• Parish information
• Priest information 

Sacramental records records either reside at the parish of origin, or at a neighboring parish.

Click here regarding the location of sacramental records of closed parishes. 

Click here for contact information on active parishes within the Archdiocese.

Resources that may be helpful for genealogists:
The Iowa Genealogical Society webpage (www.iagenweb.org) has numerous resources for genealogists.  Additionally, iowagravestones.org allows users to search for deceased relatives by name or browse by location. Finally, most counties in the state have their own genealogical societies, which can be of great assistance in tracking down hard to find records. The Archdiocese of Dubuque includes the following counties: Allamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Howard, Jackson, Jones, Linn, Marshall, Mitchell, Story, Tama, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Worth, Wright.

Contact Us

Email: archives@dbqarch.org
or
Send a letter to:

Archives
Archdiocese of Dubuque
1229 Mt. Loretta Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52003

We do not have:

• Information regarding sisters (women religious-contact the motherhouse directly)
• School records (contact the specific school or if closed, the Catholic Schools Office)
• St. Mary's Orphanage records (contact Catholic Charities)
• Catholic institution records (hospitals, homes for the aged, etc.)-contact directly
• Sacramental records (contact the parish where the sacrament was received)
• Records of the Sioux City, Davenport, or Des Moines dioceses that once comprised the Dubuque diocese. Click here for contact information on other diocesan archives in Iowa.