Over the past year, we have been reimagining how we present and deliver Archives and Information Management services, bringing them together under a single identity: AIMS.
Archives and Information Management Service (AIMS)
This is much more than a rebrand. It is a strategic shift that reflects how our work has evolved and the increasing importance of information, records and archives in supporting the mission of the Diocese.
Historically, archives and information management have often been seen as separate functions. In reality, they are part of the same journey: helping the Diocese create, manage, protect and preserve its information, from today's operational records to tomorrow's historical archives.
AIMS provides a clear and unified identity for that journey. It enables staff, clergy and parishes to understand more easily who we are, what we offer and how we can help. Rather than navigating different services, they have a single point of expertise and support.
The AIMS identity also helps us communicate the wider value of our work. We are not simply custodians of the past; we are helping the Diocese use information effectively, meet its legal and governance responsibilities, preserve its memory and tell its story to current and future generations.
Most importantly, AIMS creates confidence. Whether someone receives guidance on records management, support with digital information or access to historical archives, the AIMS name signals a trusted, professional service delivering consistent, high-quality support.
Our ambition is that AIMS becomes recognised across the Diocese not just as a service, but as an essential partner—helping people find, manage, protect and preserve the information that underpins the Church's mission.
Strategic Plan
The work of AIMS is guided by the AIMS Strategic Plan 2026-2029. Please find a copy of the Strategic Plan here: Strategic Plan.
Diocesan Archive
The records in the Diocesan Archive tell the story of the Archdiocese of Southwark and its mission. The Diocesan Archive includes the papers of the bishops/ archbishops; material relating to finance, property and education; chancery records; files on religious houses and seminaries; parish files; deanery records; information on Southwark clergy; and records on St George’s Cathedral.
There is also a collection of early printed books, predominantly works of theology and church history, and complete series of Southwark Diocese publications such as The Southwark Record and the Southwark Catholic Directory.
The archives of St John’s Seminary, Wonersh and the former Southwark Catholic Children’s Society are also held by the Diocesan Archive.
Our collections also tell the story of the wider community, as the Diocese concerned itself with many national and international issues of the day.
Diocesan History exhibition
A history display was created for the Diocesan Jubilee celebrations in Aylesford, June 2025. Please click on the links below to see the individual banners.
4. Building St George's Cathedral
5. Rebuilding St George's Cathedral
6. Elevation to an Archdiocese
7. Bishops and Archbishops part 1
8. Bishops and Archbishops part 2
13. Saints Thomas More and John Fisher
14. St John's Seminary, Wonersh & St Joseph's Junior Seminary, Mark Cross
Archive blog
Explore some of the unique documents held in the Diocesan Archive on the Archive’s blogspot: Visit the Archives Blogspot
See also:
Accessing the Diocesan Archives
Record keeping advice for parishes and Diocesan staff; archive policies and forms.
Archives and the Mission of the Church
The Catholic Church recognises the importance of archives to the mission of the Church. This is reflected in Canon Law and also in a circular letter issued by the Vatican.
The Pastoral Function of Church Archives
This circular letter, issued by the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church, is an important statement by the Vatican on the importance of archives to the Church and its mission. The message stressed throughout the letter that Church archives have particular value for evangelisation
The full letter can be read here: The Pastoral Function of Church Archives
Canon Law
Canon 486 §1: “All documents which regard the Diocese or parishes must be protected with the greatest care.”
Canon 486 §2: “In every curia there is to be erected in a safe place a diocesan archive, or record storage area, in which instruments and written documents which pertain to the spiritual and temporal affairs of the diocese are to be safeguarded after being properly filled and diligently secured.”
Can. 491 §1: “A diocesan bishop is also to take care that there is an historical archive in the diocese and that documents having historical value are diligently protected and systematically ordered in it.”
Canon 535 §4: “In each parish there is to be an archive, in which the parochial books are to be kept, together with episcopal letters and other documents which it may be necessary or useful to preserve.”
“In the mind of the Church, archives are places of memory of the Christian community and storehouses of culture for the new evangelization. Thus they themselves are a cultural good of primary importance whose special merit lies in recording the path followed by the Church through the centuries in the various contexts which constitute her very structure. As places of memory archives must systematically gather all the data making up the articulated history of the Church community so that what has been done, the results obtained, including omissions and errors, may be properly evaluated.”
- Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church
