Archivist joins Diocese to preserve and celebrate history of local Catholic community

November 17, 2020

Diocese of Saginaw

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is pleased to announce that Mark Prindiville has joined the Diocesan staff as archivist, a new position which serves the local Church by raising awareness of its history and the good works and memories of its people.

“I’ve just arrived, but already I feel uplifted after hearing of some of the ministries and history of the local Catholic community,” said Mr. Prindiville. "For instance, I’ve been told about how parishioners acted quickly to help flood victims earlier this year. I've learned that this generous spirit is part of a longer history of the local Church that includes unique outreach to those hungering for truth, compassion and love. I hope that by sharing the memories of our local Church and of the sacrifices and generosity of its people, we will learn and be inspired.”

Mr. Prindiville most recently served as assistant archivist in the Archdiocese of San Francisco where part of his work was to organize and preserve materials related to the local Catholic community’s ministry to AIDS victims in the 1980’s.

“While processing a collection related to the AIDS ministry, I was struck by how despite fears and many unknowns at the time, local faithful prayed fervently and thought of the people who were suffering the most,” said Mr. Prindiville.

“One parish in a neighborhood strongly impacted by the AIDS outbreak restarted 40 hours of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament soon after the outbreak. Interestingly, the parish had originally started the 40 hours devotion because of a plague that had struck the city. According to an oral history video for the parish, parishioners also visited AIDS patients, helped run errands and offered spiritual and emotional support to victims. It’s wonderful that someone worked on that oral history. These are the kinds of extraordinary memories that I hope to learn more about and to share in the Diocese of Saginaw.”

As archivist, Mr. Prindiville will focus on cataloging and preserving the history of the diocese both recent, and from many years ago. He will aid parishes by sharing methods on how to best retain records and will offer historical information to help in the celebration of parish anniversaries. Mr. Prindiville will also work to provide historical resources to aid the various offices of the Diocese in their ministry to the local community as well as collections for public use.

Mark Prindiville is originally from Detroit. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history and master’s degree in 20th century U.S. history from Central Michigan University and his Master’s degree in library and information science from Wayne State University in Detroit. Mark can be reached at mprindiville@dioceseofsaginaw.org.