Paraguay, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Paraguay. Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica

Collection Time Period
This collection of Catholic Church parish records includes the years 1754-1981.

Record Description
This collection of Catholic Church parish records includes baptisms, marriages, deaths, and miscellaneous parish records covering localities for the country of Paraguay. The text of the records is handwritten in Spanish, mostly in narrative form. In later years, the text was handwritten in formatted records.

Church registers are created by the priest in charge of the parish where the ordinance was performed. The original records are kept in a register in the local parish archive and a duplicate copy is usually sent to the corresponding diocese or archdiocese for archival preservation.

For a list of records by department currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed in the wiki article Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in baptisms may include:


 * Place of event
 * Date of event
 * Name of the child
 * Parents’ names
 * Grandparents’ names
 * Godparents’ names

Key genealogical facts found in marriages may include:


 * Place and date of the event
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Personal information of the bride and groom
 * Parents’ names of the bride and groom
 * Place of residence

Key genealogical facts found burials/deaths may include:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name of the deceased person
 * Sometimes the names of the parents or spouse of the deceased person
 * Cause of death
 * Burial place

How to Use the Records
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes to baptisms, marriages, and death or burials make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The place where the event occurred
 * The name and surname of the person
 * The approximate date of the event
 * The name of the parents or spouse

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:


 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in church records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Why the Record Was Created
The priests were authorized and requested to create the registers in order to keep a record of all the sacramental ordinances, such as baptisms, marriages, and deaths, in the life of his parishioners. Before the civil registration was implemented in 1880, civil authorities used the church records as a civil documentation.

Record Reliability
Catholic Church parish registers of birth, death, and marriage are the primary source and most reliable records for genealogical research in Paraguay. After 1880, it is recommended to also use the civil records.

Related Websites
Catholic Church Hierarchy in Paraguay

Related Wiki Articles

 * Paraguay

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Paraguay, Catholic Church Records 1754-1981," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 7 June 2012), Paraguay, Catholic Church Records, 1754-1981 > Amambay > Bella Vista > Bella Vista > Confirmaciones 1920 > Image 20 of 103 images, Betrona Bernarda and Benito Alfon, 1920; citing Republica del Paraguay, Various Catholic Church parishes, Registros parroquiales, 1754-1981, Archibishopric of Asuncion (Arzobispado de Asuncion) Asuncion, Paraguay.