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AFVL - Amor Fides Via Lux

American Friends of the Vatican Library

About Us

The purpose of the American Friends of the Vatican Library is to develop an awareness of the Vatican Library in the United States. The institution also helps to provide funds for the publication of scholarship, special projects and other needs beyond the operations budget of the Apostolic Library.

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American Friends of the Vatican Library — historic header

History of the American Friends of the Vatican Library

The American Friends of the Vatican Library, the first auxiliary group of its kind in the long history of the Vatican Library, was founded by two American librarians in 1981: Msgr. Francis X. Canfield and Sr. Claudia Carlen, IHM.

Msgr. Canfield and Sr. Carlen proposed the idea for the group to Fr. Alfons Stickler, Prefect for the Library and later Cardinal Librarian-Archivist of the Catholic Church. Fr. Stickler received a letter on Oct. 9, 1981, from Cardinal Casaroli, the Vatican Secretary of State, which granted the approval of the organization by Pope John Paul II. The late Holy Father expressed his gratitude and he encouraged the Friends to promote the Apostolic Library.

Executive Committee

President

Rev. Msgr. Charles G. Kosanke

  • Rector / President
  • SS Cyril & Methodius Seminary
  • Orchard Lake, MI

Secretary / Treasurer

Stephen A. Seneker

  • CFO
  • Media-Direct LLC
  • Bloomfield Hills, MI

Counsel

Joseph Bonventre

  • Counsel
  • Clark Hill, P.L.C.

Term Board of Directors

Rev. Msgr. Charles G. Kosanke

  • Rector / President
  • SS Cyril & Methodius Seminary
  • Orchard Lake, MI

Stephen A. Seneker

  • CFO
  • Media-Direct LLC
  • Bloomfield Hills, MI

Joseph Bonventre

  • Counsel
  • Clark Hill, P.L.C.

Most Rev. Leonard P. Blair

  • Bishop of Toledo
  • Toledo, OH

Dr. Francis X. Blouin, Jr.

  • Director, Bentley Historical Library
  • University of Michigan
  • Ann Arbor, MI

Sr. Jean R. Bostley, SSJ

  • Director, Catholic Library Association
  • Pittsfield, MA

Dedria Bryfonski

  • Executive Vice President
  • Thomson Gale
  • Farmington Hills, MI

Patrice Merritt

  • Executive Director
  • The Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation
  • Detroit, MI

Honorary Board of Directors

Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua

  • Archbishop Emeritus
  • Philadelphia, PA

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J.

  • Fordham University
  • Bronx, NY

Theodore Cardinal McCarrick

  • Archbishop of Washington
  • Washington, D.C.

Jorge Cardinal Mejia

  • Librarian and Archivist, S.R.E., Emeritus
  • Vatican City State, Italy

Edward Cardinal Egan

  • Archbishop of New York
  • New York, NY

James Cardinal Stafford

  • Major Penitentiary
  • Apostolic Penitentiary
  • Rome, Italy

Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.

  • Archbishop of Chicago
  • Chicago, IL

Alfons Cardinal Stickler, S.D.B.

  • Librarian and Archivist, S.R.E., Emeritus
  • Vatican City State, Italy

William Cardinal Keeler

  • Archbishop of Baltimore
  • Baltimore, MD

Edmund Cardinal Szoka

  • President Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
  • Vatican City State, Italy

Adam Cardinal Maida

  • Archbishop of Detroit
  • Detroit, MI

Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran

  • Librarian and Archivist, S.R.E.
  • Vatican City State, Italy

Rev. Rafaele Farina, S.D.B., Prefect

  • Vatican Apostolic Library
  • Vatican City State, Italy
AFVL 25th anniversary

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