It is believed that the Vatican possesses a huge collection of rare documents related to unexplained phenomena.
The Vatican Apostolic Archives, formerly known as the Vatican Secret Archives, is the central repository in Vatican City of all acts promulgated by the Holy See. This repository contains thousands of items, including books, manuscripts, state papers, letters, and even presidential missions.
As one of the largest and most secret collections in the world, these documents are stored on miles of shelves deep beneath the Vatican.
Recently, proponents of UFO disclosure have attempted to access the archives to uncover historical records of unidentified flying objects and similar phenomena. Paranormal investigators are also eager to investigate records of supernatural events, reports say usccb.org.
Although there have been efforts in recent years to digitize and publish some materials from the archives, it is unlikely that much of the content these researchers seek will be prioritized.
“The historical record is filled with things like this [supernatural] events. The people in the Vatican don’t even know where to look; it is in their basements,” said Diana Walsh Pasulka, author and professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
“The archivists are in a huge hurry to digitize what they have; they must prioritize what they consider most important. They don’t really prioritize orbs that bothered nuns in the 19th century.”
Interest in the Vatican’s assets extends beyond the domain of religious scholars. Scientists like Garry Nolan, a professor of medicine at Stanford University, see the Vatican archives as a potential treasure trove for understanding UFOs.
“The Vatican is probably the oldest surviving library system of paranormal and supernatural knowledge,” Nolan said. The archive “has an aura of both mysticism and a sense of deep truth: if you just know how to read it, you can extract that information.”
But when exactly the Vatican will grant access to its age-old X-Files remains unclear for the time being.
