This collection consists of books, documents, and correspondence pertaining to or collected by the bishops of the diocese. The first 17 reels consist of books and pamphlets from the episcopal library concerning anti-Catholic activities, the history of Indiana and the United States, William Hogan and the trustee controversy at St. Mary's Cathedral in Philadelphia, the American Tract Society, the Catholic Tract Society, Protestant demoninations and... other topics of interest to the bishop of Vincennes. Some of the materials date from circa 1750, but most date from 1800 to 1840. A large portion of these documents are in French, and are so noted in the following item by item description.

Reels 18 through 31 consist of correspondence, diocesan reports, legal papers, wills and estate inventories, records pertaining to individual parishes, real estate records, pastoral letters, and sermons. Correspondents include Bishops Benedict Flaget, Simon Brute, Celestine Hailandiere, Francis Chatard, Peter Kenrick, and Paul Maes. Many of the documents on these reels are in French, and portions of reels 22 and 23 are nearly illegible due to poor... film images. Reels 22 and 23 are duplicates, and appear to contain correspondence of Celestine de la Hailandiere (1798-1882), bishop of Vincennes from 1839 to 1847. Reel 24 contains deeds and court documents relating to various properties held by the diocese, and records of the trustees of St. Francis Xavier Church in Vincennes.

Reel 25 contains some real estate records, notes for sermons, inventories of deceased persons' estates, and miscellaneous documents. Reel 26 contains miscellany from early Vincennes history. Reels 27 and 28 consist of pastoral letters of the bishops of Vincennes from 1871 to 1926. Reel 29 is a compilation of death notices of priests of the diocese, 1881-1908. Reel 30 contains various pastoral letters from the bishops of Vincennes, and also includes... pastorals from bishops in other dioceses. These letters generally date from the mid-nineteenth century. Reel 31 consists of records from the diocesan church building insurance company from 1891 to 1908, dealing chiefly with payments of claims for fire damage. It should be noted that the diocese was established at Vincennes in 1834, and the episcopal seat was transferred to Indianapolis in 1898. A more detailed listing of this collection follows. Some originals exist in the Notre Dame Archives.