The major portion of this roll in composed of the University of Notre Dame Archives' calendars for the Records of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Floridas, 1576-1803. These calendars typed on 3" by 5" index cards, have been placed in chronological order and filmed eight cards to a frame. Those who refer to them are particularly cautioned that they have been filmed as an aid to the use of the microfilm and not as a substitute for the documents themselves. Consequently, the University of Notre Dame Archives guarantees neither the accuracy nor their completeness.

On this roll are to be found the earliest documents in the Collection. Although the initial item is dated May 27, 1576, for the period up to 1786 there are only forty items. The great bulk -- one hundred and thirty-four items -- pertains to the years 1786-1790. In general the material on this and succeeding rolls relates to ecclesiastical affairs and includes items pertaining to marriages, funerals, dispensations, grants of indulgences, the assignment and transfer of priests, and ecclesiastical finances. Throughout the film there are various documents relating to matters of concern to both Church and State which are indicative ofthe close relationship which existed between the two.

Items of special interest include: a printed brochure contained two letters, dated respectively 1632 and 1633, from Father Estevan de Perea, Guardian of the Province of New Mexico, to Father Fransisco de Apodaca, Commissary General of all New Spain, relative to missionary activities; a partial list under date of Dec. 13, 1737, of those killed by the Natchez Indians at Natchez and the Yazoos; two items, dated Feb. 28, 1757, and Nov. 30, 1758, respectively, relative to the finances of the Charity Hospital at New Orleans; several items, dated respectively May 6, 1786, July 6 1786, Aug. 11, 1787, and Mar. 28, 1788, relative to quests for sanctuary by fugitives from justice; a general summary, dated 1788, of the registry of persons in Louisiana, at Mobile, and at Pensacola; a letter of Mar. 28, 1788, from Father Valiniere to Father Sedella relative to religious requirements for the settlement of Americans in Spanish territory; a Nov. 6, 1789, copy of a royal decree for the establishment of a Maritime Fishing Company in Louisiana; and an Aug. 17, 1790, dossier containing various royal and papal decrees relative to a tax on ecclesiastical income. In several instances, on this and succeeding rolls, where particular documents are so badly stained, faded or deteriorated that it has been impossible to obtain a completely legible image, the applicable calendar has been also filmed before such documents.

Many of the items on this roll are actually large dossiers containing various documents relating to specific subjects. For example, the only item for 1791 is a dossier under date of June 30 of documents concerning the building of brick houses to be rented for the benefit ofthe Church of St. Louis in New Orleans. Other items of interest include: an April 10, 1793, dossier containing royal instructions in regard to marriages among Protestants and between Protestants and Catholics; a Dec. 21 1793, dossier of instructions for Father Joaquin de Portillo, Vicar Forane of Louisiana, and for Father Theodoro Thirso Henrique Henriquez, Advocate of the Royal Court of Mexico and Santo Domingo, Vicar General Auxiliary to the Bishop of Havana, Vicar Forane of Louisiana, and Ecclesiastical Judge for the Province of Louisiana; and a Jan. 24, 1795, copy of Governor Carondelet's report to Spain giving and account, which includes census figures, of the various parishes in Louisiana.