1.8 Special Visitor Peter Kenney, S.J., 1819 - 1900

Sub-Series

Scope and Contents

This subseries includes documentation of Peter Kenney, S.J.’s time serving as Special Visitor to the Jesuit Missions of the United States on behalf of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus in Rome. A prominent Irish Jesuit, Kenney visited the United States from 1819 to 1820, and again from 1830 to 1833. During his visits, he was asked to address questions regarding the organization of provinces, economic viability, and the application of the rules of the Society to local circumstances.

This subseries contains personal and official papers, including letters sent and received (July 31, 1819-January 18, 1833); reports related to the Mission of the American Federation and Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen (1819-1820, 1830-1833); proposals for the creation of the Missouri Province, and directives for its superiors (1830-1833); reports for the Superiors of the Houses at Goshenhoppen, Conewago, White Marsh, Frederick, and Bohemia (1830-1833); an account book (1830-1833); a travel log (1830); and an undated Jesuit custom book.

Kenney’s reports led to the establishment of the Maryland Province in 1833 and to the separation of the Missouri Mission into a Vice-Province in 1840. Kenney recorded his observations about the missions in the northeastern United States, Missouri Valley, and Kentucky in memoranda and directives addressed to the Jesuit Curia in Rome and to the Superiors, Consultors, and Rectors stationed in the United States. Broadly, in these reports, he considered: how the Jesuit Curia in Rome could establish its authority within a republic, the governance of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen, and the uses of the Society's property - including real estate and enslaved individuals - in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Kenney also wrote reports on the Jesuit Houses, focusing on the application of the rules of the Society within each House, for the Superiors and Rectors of the Missions of Maryland and Missouri. Kenney’s Ordinationes (binding directives that clarified rules), Consultationes (advice for Superiors regarding local circumstances), and Memoranda (observations of customary practices) addressed details of everyday life within the Houses, including procedures for daily prayer, provisions for meals, the appropriate use of coadjutors and domestic servants, relations with Protestants and Archdiocesan leaders, and the religious practices of enslaved individuals. These writings also addressed the finances of each House, especially in relation to Jesuit novitiates and the schools served by them. During his second visit to the United States (1830-1833), Kenney also served as Provincial of the Maryland Mission.

**Please note: the finding aid contains Scope and Contents notes for each folder. This folder-level description has been imported from an older finding aid. Researchers may encounter outdated or potentially offensive terminology and occasional inaccuracies. If you would like to notify Special Collections of any issues that need correcting, please contact us.**

Materials on Slavery

Some materials in this subseries contain references to slavery, slaveholding, and enslaved individuals. Relevant folders are noted in the finding aid.

Related Materials

During the organization of the Maryland Province Archives in the early twentieth century by Joseph Zwinge, S.J., some of the papers of the Kenney visits were separated from each other; many of these papers were integrated into the Procurator Subject Files (now Subseries 2.1). The Provincial Correspondence subseries (Subseries 1.1. and 1.2) include records of his tenure as Superior of the Maryland Mission. Records of Kenney’s visit can also be found in two other collections: the records of the Archivum Romanum Societatis Jesu and the records of the Irish Provincial.

Provenance and Arrangement

The materials in this subseries were part of the initial 1977 deposit of materials. The arrangement of materials related to Kenney’s time as Special Visitor reflects the work performed by Joseph Zwinge, S.J. in the early twentieth century.

Dates

1819 - 1900

Conditions Governing Access

The Maryland Province Archives is on deposit at Georgetown University and is the property of the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus. As stewards of the Archives, the Georgetown University Library’s Booth Family Center for Special Collections is responsible for managing access to the material based on policies set forth by the USA East Province. Researchers may view these materials in the Reading Room of the Booth Family Center for Special Collections. General policies for using Special Collections can be found here.

Access to the Archives is governed by the USA East Province and is subject to all Library and Special Collections policies and procedures in addition to the specific guidelines below. These guidelines are a summary of access policies; the Archives may include materials that fall outside the scope of these general guidelines. For information on access to specific materials, please contact the Special Collections staff.

Guidelines:

1. All Archives materials dated or bearing solely on events occurring before January 1, 1940, shall be open for review unless otherwise restricted, subject to Library policies and procedures.

2. All unpublished Archives materials dated or bearing solely on events occurring on or after January 1, 1940, shall be open for review upon request subject to a decision by the Provincial or someone designated by the Provincial.

3. Researchers may quote from the materials.

4. Researchers may take their own photographs of the material for scholarly and research purposes. Allowing photographs is not an authorization to publish or to deposit the material in another library or archive.

5. Written permission from the USA East Province is required for the publication of substantive portions of any material or publication-quality reproductions of any material.

6. Material not yet processed is not available to researchers; permission will not be granted to access any unprocessed material.

7. Audiovisual, microfilm and other material in the Archives, the original of which is held in another archive, may be consulted and transcribed only. Written permission from the archive holding the original material is required for any duplication, reproduction, or publication of that material.

8. Use the Permission Request Form to request permission (i) to access any restricted processed material or (ii) to publish reproductions or quote substantive portions of the material. Send the completed form by email to the Booth Family Center for Special Collections (speccoll@georgetown.edu).

Extent

From the Collection: 308 boxes (212 regular boxes, 25 oversized boxes, 58 restricted regular boxes, 13 restricted oversized boxes, plus 14 card catalog drawers )