Vatican Manuscripts from the Sire Fond

Marie-Dominique Sire, born in 1827, was a priest of the Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice, dying in 1917. He was involved in the project that eventually lead to the Bull Ineffabilis (of Sept. 8, 1854), proclaiming the Immaculate Conception of Mary to be Dogma. After the proclemation, he started a project to translate the Bull into all "living" languages, and donate the product to the Pope. From this a donation of 84 manuscripts became the Fonds Sire of the BAV, with a further 23 volumes lost. Sire even comissioned a special bookcase for the Sala dell'immacolata to contain the volumes, see image to the right. For far more detail, please see Duval-Arnould, Louis, sac., 1933- "La collectione «Sire» de la Bibliotèque Vaticane", In Miscellanea Bibliothecae Apostolicae Vaticanae IX, 2002. pp. 115-168.

There are currently 19 volumes digitized out of the 84 signatures, consisting of 83 volumes and Sire.L.16, which is only a binding.

Biblioteca apostolica vaticana. (2011). Guida ai fondi manoscritti, numismatici, a stampa della Biblioteca vaticana. Biblioteca apostolica vaticana. pp. 532-535

Sire.L.1, Translation into 14 Languages of Indochina of the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (c. 1866)

Incipit: (f.1r) Translation of the Bull Ineffabilis Made at Cuttack; The 16th January in the year of our Lord 1866

Includes Oriya, Urdu, Konkani, Malayalam, Tamil, Khmer, etc

Sire.L.5, Bull of the Immaculate Conception (1865)

Incipit: (f.2r) Pius easpiit serbise ac [con]iit serbisitib De

In Irish Gaelic, translated by Ulrick J. Bourke.

Sire.L.12, Translation into Tibetan of the Bull of the Immaculate Conception (1868)

Incipit: Traduction en langue Thibetaine de la Bulle Ineffabilis de N. S. P. le P. Pie IX touchant le dogme l'immaculée de Conception de la B. V. M

Translated by the missionaries J.C. Fage and Auguste Desgodins in December 1868.

Sire.L.13, Bull of the Immaculate Conception, translated into Korean (1863)

Incipit: Traduction en langue Coréenne de la bulle por laquelle M.T.Sp> le pape Pie IX a proclamé doyone de foi le mystiere de l'Immaculée Conception de la Sainte Vierge

Translated by Han Yang of Seoul, sent by Siméon Berneux, Apostolic Vicar of Korea, bishop of Capsus. Codex reads right to left, pages top to bottom

Sire.D.1, Bulla Ineffabilis: Wolof, Sérère, Benga, Pongoué, and Bantu (c. 1849-1860)

Incipit: (f.1r) Traduction de la Bulle Ineffabilis en Langue Wolof du Senegal

Sire.A.4, Translation into Balearic, Doctrine of Immaculate Conception (1866)

Incipit: (f.1r) Lletres Apostolicas de Nostre S. P. per la Divina Providencia Pio IX Papa de la Dogmatica definicio de la Inmaculada concepcio de la Verge mare de deu en Llenco Mallorquina

Translated by José de Rocaberti de Dameto, written by P. Inglada and decorated by Melcher Humbert.

Sire.A.10, Bull of the Immaculate Conception (c. 1878)

Incipit: Traduction en langue Armenienne de la Bulle Ineffabilis.

Done by the Mekhitaristes of Venice, decoration by the nuns of l'Abbaye-aux-Bois de Paris, title page by Virginie L.

Sire.D.5, Translation into Montagnaise, Doctrine of Immaculate Conception

Decorated by Mme Saint-Helier and other nuns at Sacrè-Coeur de Coutances

Sire.H.1, Translation into Romanche, Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (1863)

Incipit: (f.1r) A Sa Sainteté Pie IX. Hommage de la Suisse catholique

Work by Franz Nicolaus Florentini, bishop of Coire. decoration by Countess Anatole de Sainte Aldegonde

Sire.L.8, Translation into Polish, Doctrine of Immaculate Conception

Translated by Father Alekxander Jelowicki, decorated by Countess Maria Przezdzieka

Sire.L.10 (Low Quality), Translation into Mongol, Doctrine of Immaculate Conception (1867)

Translated by Joseph-Martial Mouly, titular bishop of Fussula and Bejing

Sire.L.17, Translation into Galician Russian, Doctrine of Immaculate Conception (1874)

Written in cyrillic.

Sire.N.2, Traduction de la Bulle Ineffabilis dans les principaux dialectes poplaires de la Guyenne (1867)

Incipit: Traduction de la Bulle Ineffabilis dans les principaux dialectes poplaires de la Guyenne

Written by the Brothers of the Ecoles Chretiennes Leobert, decoration by Marie Gadou and the brothers of the Ecoles Chretiennes Ludovicus. Bound by Leon Gruel

Sire.O.1, Translation into Castillian, Doctrine of Immaculate Conception

Incipit: (f.1r) Letras apostolicas de nuestro santisi-mo padre Pio por la divina providencia

Work by Cardinal Cirilo Alameda y Brea, archbishop of Toledo. Decoration by P. Julian Viñas, bound by Gruel

Sire.O.4, Translation into Sardinian, Doctrine of Immaculate Conception

Incipit: (f.1r) Su Deus inefabi-li is disposi-zioras de su ca-li

Decorated by Ferdinand de Pape, bound by Gruel

Sire.O.8, Traduction de la Bulle Ineffabilis dans les Dialectes de L'Italie (1864)

Incipit: (f.2r) Lettera Apostolica del santissimo nostro Padre Pio IX per divina prouidenza Pontefice

dated on f.1r

Sire.P.2, Translation into Catalan, Valencian and Bable of the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (1862-6)

Bable is the dialect spoken in the Spanish region of Asturias

Sire.Q.1, Pope Pius IX A Definicao Dogmatica da Immaculada Conceiçao da Virgem Maede Deus (c. 1866)

Incipit: Lettras apostolicas do Nosso Santissimo Padre Pela Divina Providencia Papa Pio IX S.D.B.R.S.

in Portuguese

Sire.R.2, Translation into Brazilian Portuguese, Doctrine of Immaculate Conception (1867-1877)

Incipit: (f.VIIr) Letras Apostolicas Do Nosso Santissimo Padre Pela Divina Providencia Papa Pio IX

Decorted by Leopoldo Heck,