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Please contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections for assistance with accessing these materials.

Wilfrid Parsons, SJ Papers

 Collection
Identifier: GTM-GAMMS62

Scope and Contents

The Joseph Wilfrid Parsons, SJ Papers contain typescripts and published writings; professional correspondence and subject files; and personal materials (including letters and photographs). Of note is correspondence with Joseph Breen, Martin Quigley, Daniel Lord, SJ, Myles Connolly, and Will Hays regarding the creation and implementation of the Motion Picture Production Code (Hays Code).

Please note that topics cut across series. Researchers studying the motion picture industry, for example, should consult both subject files ("motion pictures") and alphabetical correspondence.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1900-1958

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The Wilfrid Parsons, SJ Papers are on deposit at Georgetown University and are 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 All unpublished Archives materials dated or bearing solely on events occurring on or after January 1, 1940, shall be open for review upon request subject to a decision by the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).

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials being used, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission for intended use.

Biographical Note

Joseph Wilfrid Parsons, SJ (1887-1958) was born in Philadelphia to parents Paul J. (1857-1935) and Alice C. Avery (1859-1955, m. 1881) with his sisters Elsie M. (later Sister Wilfrid SNDdeN, 1881-1970) and Margaret M. (1894-1997) as well as brothers Paul F. (1890-1939), Robert A. (1892-1968), and Louis R. (1899-1915). After his early schooling in Philadelphia, he completed his freshman year at St. Joseph’s College (1902-1903) and entered the Society of Jesus at St. Andrew-on-Hudson (Poughkeepsie, 1903-1907). His brothers Paul, Robert, and Louis also entered the Society in 1907, 1909, and 1915, respectively, although Paul later left in 1916.

Wilfrid completed philosophical studies at St. John Berchmans in Louvain, Belgium (1907-1910) before being stationed at Boston College High School (1910-1912), Loyola School (New York City, 1912-1914), and College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, 1914-1915) for his regency. Between 1915 and 1919 he was at Woodstock College, during which he was ordained in 1918, before studying theology at Gregorian University in Rome (1919-1921). After Fr. Parsons did his tertianship at St. Andrew-on-Hudson (1921-1922), he became a fundamental theology professor at Woodstock (1922-1925) while simultaneously working as acting editor of America (1923-1924). Upon the death of Fr. Richard H. Tierney in 1925, Parsons became editor-in-chief of the magazine until 1936.

Fr. Parsons joined the faculty at Georgetown University as professor of history and director of Riggs Memorial Library and the University Archives (1936-1940); professor of political science (1937-1938); and dean of the graduate school (1938-1940) before joining the staff at Catholic University as chair of political philosophy (1940-1948). During this period he was also superior of Carroll House at 3303 10th St NE in Washington, DC, a residence established for Jesuits teaching at Catholic University (1943-1945). He returned to Georgetown as director of Jesuit students at Catholic University (1948-1949) and Riggs Library (1949-1951) before teaching political science at Catholic University once more (1951-1952). Between 1952 and 1956 Fr. Parsons was a professor of political science in the graduate school at Georgetown, after which he was a professor emeritus and the Washington correspondent for America (1956-1958). He died in Washington, DC, in 1958.

Extent

11.2 Cubic Feet (28 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

French

Italian

German

Latin

Spanish

Metadata Rights Declarations

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Likely transferred from the Georgetown University Jesuit residence after his death in 1958.

Related Materials

See also the America Magazine Records, formerly known as the America Magazine Archives, as well as the Robert A. Parsons, SJ Papers; the Wilfrid Parsons, SJ - Annie Christitch Letters, formerly known as the Wilfrid Parsons, SJ Papers 2; and the Martin J. Quigley Papers.

Processing Information

This collection was reprocessed as well as rehoused into acid-free boxes and folders in July 2026. For assistance in identifying a legacy citation, please contact Special Collections staff.

Title
Wilfrid Parsons, SJ Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Aleksandra Kinlen
Date
2026-07
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057