Exciting things are happening at the archdiocesan archives!

BY CAROL SOWA
TODAY’S CATHOLIC

SAN ANTONIO • When Brother Ed Loch, SM, archivist for the archives of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, recently said that something unexpectedly “blew up” that wasn’t in his plans for the archives this year, his words could easily have been more than just a figure of speech.

In the process of duplicating microfilm copies of The Southern Messenger (one of the predecessors of Today’s Catholic) for the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), it was discovered the aging plastic film was self-destructing. In fact, one had turned into a jelly-like substance. “It had already turned into nitroglycerin,” said Brother Loch. “If that had ignited here in the building, we really would have had a good fire!”

As a result, microfilms of The Southern Messenger, The Alamo Register and The Alamo Messenger (formed by a merger of the previous two in 1957 and later becoming Today’s Catholic in 1972) have been sent off to be transferred into digital format on disks, from which new microfilm copies can be made on longer-lasting safety film. This new microfilm will outlast CDs, where the glue holding the metal particles together disintegrates over time.

Eventually, Brother Loch would like to see all of the archives’ microfilm records transferred to this new process and the chancery’s development department is busy writing grant proposals to this end.

UTSA will be underwriting the conversion of The Southern Messenger films, in an effort to obtain copies of this historic publication. The interest of other universities in acquiring copies of the early diocesan newspapers will help to further defray their cost of conversion as well.

Working in the archives can be exciting in less volatile ways, as Brother Loch has discovered in his 19 years as its director. Contained in the several rooms that comprise the archives, located on the first floor of the chancery, are documents dating to 1703. Parish and Catholic school records, various business papers from bishops and archbishops, the chancery and a multitude of church institutions and organizations also find a repository here.

There are also rare books and reference books, along with museum cases of diocesan memorabilia, including mementos of Pope John Paul II’s visit to San Antonio.
Of special importance to many are the various records maintained. “We have saved people their Social Security,” said Brother Loch, noting that people have come to him after 30 years, in hopes of locating proof of employment by the archdiocese. “So we go back on the film,” he said, “and here comes a W-2 form ... and what we paid in taxes and such. You can print that out and they can go into Social Security and say, ‘Here it is!’”

Sacramental records are equally as significant, with baptismal records being able to verify date and place of birth. “A few years ago,” Brother Loch related, “the government was targeting Hispanics, to get them off supplementary Social Security. I got a phone call from Milwaukee and this man’s family was very upset because the father was going to be disconnected from his oxygen because he couldn’t prove that he was an American citizen.”

Some sleuthing through baptismal records turned up proof that the man in question was born on a ranch in Floresville. “Here I am, saving a man’s life!” reflected Brother Loch.
While the race to obtain funding for the new digital conversion process for these records continues, there is still a measure of protection afforded these particular documents under Canon Law. It mandates that, after being copied to microfilm, the original sacramental records must be safely stored at a separate location — in this case, a bank’s vault.
The archives also features a room designated as a vault, though not of the requisite concrete and steel construction with combination lock. (Such a vault for the safekeeping of the archive’s valuable records remains on Brother Loch’s “wish list.”) Here the bulk of the archives’ records and historical items reside, the most precious under further lock and key.

In case of fire, there is a sprinkler system and, should it ever have to be used, most water damage to the documents can be reversed by a company which specializes in freeze-drying such documents until they are as good as their original condition, with the exception of soluble ink that has run.

While the archives’ primary purpose is to house historic items of the paper variety (including documents, registers, photographs, negatives, film, blueprints and posters), a number of museum-type items have found their way there over the years. This includes a historic chalice from the city’s Spanish Colonial period, another belonging to Bishop John C. Neraz, and a ciborium that is on permanent loan from the state of Texas, having been used as loan collateral by a church in the 1940s. Never claimed, it turned up decades later in a bank safety deposit box that had been forfeited to the state.

There are antique “sick call” sets, Archbishop Arthur J. Drossaerts’ favorite pectoral cross, and a set of Sanctus bells taken by Archbishop Francis J. Furey to Rome as a gift to Pope John Paul I. By the time the archbishop arrived, the pontiff had passed away and the bells were brought back to San Antonio.

The majority of the archives’ contents, however, are neatly stored in row after row of file boxes on moveable shelving that compacts for efficient storage. A single shelf holds all that remains of the papers of the bishops of San Antonio before Archbishop Robert E. Lucey. Archbishop Lucey’s papers take up nearly an entire wall of shelving by comparison. Like his predecessors, they will not be open to the public until 40 years after his death.

A smaller row of boxes mark the 10 years of Archbishop Furey, and now a vast assemblage of papers from Archbishop Emeritus Patrick F. Flores have arrived to be sorted through. How does Brother Loch keep up with the constant inflow of materials to be cataloged and preserved, while conducting research as needed?

The sole employee of the archives, Brother Loch does receive some assistance from other quarters. Margaret Perez of the Baptismal Records Office frequents the microfilm room to verify requested birth dates. The remainder of his help comes from a few dedicated volunteers.

For the past five years, Kristin Fetzer has been typing out the marriage indexes, while Brother Jim Pieper, SM, now 85, comes in twice weekly to type the baptismal indexes. Carmela Leal assists once a week, helping to organize Archbishop Flores’ papers, and retired principal Sylvia Sutton stops in regularly to sort out the recently arrived records from St. Mary’s School by the Riverwalk, which closed last year.

Work-study students from UTSA and St. Mary’s University have also proved helpful in the past, for occasional semesters. Still, as official archivist, Brother Loch must check all work for accuracy before things are filed away.

On the horizon for the archives, is the prospect of a part-time worker to be added in the coming year. While that will ease Brother Loch’s time crunch, the lack of space still remains a problem. Built to be sufficient for 50 years, the archives’ present site has run out of space in less than 25 and is literally “bursting at the seams” with its abundance of materials.

With its mission to “collect, store, repair, appraise, arrange, describe, make available and preserve” the administrative, fiscal, legal and historical records of the archdiocese, the archives’ future doubtless holds many “exciting” years and changes ahead — perhaps even, someday, Brother Loch’s personal vision of a future archives building adjacent to the chancery, with plenty of room to grow.

Now, that would be something to get excited about.

The history of the archdiocesan keeper of history — Br. Ed Loch

BY CAROL SOWA
TODAY’S CATHOLIC

SAN ANTONIO • Marianist Brother Ed Loch’s road to becoming archivist for the Archdiocese of San Antonio began with his being drawn to the Brothers of Mary during his high school years.

It was the Marianists’ “strong unity ... the family spirit” that attracted him, and it was through them that he came to San Antonio to attend St. Mary’s University, earning a degree in history. Later, he earned a master’s in Spanish at Notre Dame University.

Both these fields of study have served him well in his role of organizing and preserving the history of the archdiocese, where the earliest records (dating back to 1703) are in Spanish.

Brother Loch’s early years as a Marianist were spent as a teacher, teaching grade school through college level throughout Texas and in St. Louis, including impoverished East St. Louis. For 19 years he served as a head of foreign languages, teaching Spanish. Along the way, he became moderator of a caving club, which had him exploring and mapping subterranean caverns — much the way he now delves into his research at the San Antonio archdiocesan archives.

This teaching career was followed by a six-month sabbatical studying at Marianist schools throughout Spain. Then came an assignment to help build a football field at Central Catholic High School in San Antonio, based on his previous experience building one in St. Louis.

This proved to be a major project, and Brother Loch soon found himself wanting to do something apostolic at the same time. As a result, he became involved in a growing program for “street kids” at St. Mary Church downtown, leading to an 18-year ministry in Juvenile Detention. He returned briefly to teaching (this time, at Mount Sacred Heart) before deciding in 1986 that he was ready for a new challenge.

“ So I came to see Sister Charlene (Wedelich), vicar of religious,” noted Brother Loch, “and I said, ‘What is there in ministry in the archdiocese?’”

Describing his background in history, Spanish and library work for the Marianists, he recalls Sister Wedelich saying, “Library? There’s a library under my room here; they’re looking for a librarian. It’s called the archives.” Brother Loch replied, “Archives? Tell me more.”

And the rest is history!