Records of three affiliated agencies--the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, the Commission for Catholic Missions Among the Colored People and the Indians (Black and Indian Mission Office), and The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board (Catholic Board for Mission Work Among the Colored People)--which document Catholic mission activities in the United States and dependent territories.

Gift of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, 1977- [ongoing]. Processed by Philip C. Bantin, 1977-1986, and Mark G. Thiel, 1986-[ongoing]. De Rancé, Incorporated (Milwaukee), provided generous support for the initial acquisition and processing of records, 1976-1980. 

Historical Note

The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board is a fundraising organization established in 1907 as the Catholic Board for Mission Work Among the Colored People; its name changed to The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board in 1970. It was located in New York City to 1980, when it moved to Washington, D.C., where it shares staff and facilities with the Black and Indian Mission Office (Commission for Catholic Missions Among the Colored People and the Indians) and the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions.

Scope and Content

The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board, Series 1-1, Monsignor Paul A. Lenz: General correspondence of the administration of Monsignor Paul A. Lenz. These records have not been processed for research. Records after 1982 are restricted for 25 years (2008-[ongoing]). 

The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board, Series 18, Publications: This series includes the publications of the Catholic Negro-American Mission Board, which are comprised of two periodicals, Our Colored Mission and Educating in Faith, plus appeal letters. The New York Public Library microfilmed portions of both periodicals and in 1981, Educating in Faith was reformatted and renumbered.