The Academy of American Franciscan History is a research institute affiliated with the Franciscan School of Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California. The Academy is dedicated to the encouragement of the study of the Franciscan Order in the Americas. It does this through the publication of monographs, documents, a scholarly journal, as well as sponsoring seminars, conferences, and public lectures.
Since its founding in 1943, the Academy has published more than forty volumes, all dealing with the history of the Franciscans in the Americas. Its publications include numerous monographs on topics of American Franciscan history as well as definitive editions of the writings of American Franciscan missionaries, such as Junípero Serra, Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, Francisco Palóu, Toribio de Motolinía, and others.
The Academy's quarterly journal, The Americas, has been one of the leading journals of Latin American history since its inception in 1944. It publishes articles and reviews books on the history of all geographical regions of the Americas throughout their rich history.