Somalia Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Somalia, go to the Religious Records page.

Online Resources and Websites
'''Ancestry.com, findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
 * French Somaliland Civil Registration and Parish Registers, 1884-1906, index and images.
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Somalia, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Africa, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Africa, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Somalia, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials, index and images, ($)

Historical Background
According to the Pew Research Center, 99.8% of Somalia's population is Muslim. The constitution of Somalia likewise defines Islam as the state religion of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Christianity is a minority religion in Somalia, with adherents representing less than 0.1% of the population in 2010 according to the Pew Research Center. There is a small Christian community in Somalia mainly living amongst Somali Muslims in the Banaadir region. There is one Catholic diocese for the whole country, the Diocese of Mogadishu, which estimates that there were only about one hundred Catholic practitioners in 2004.

Information Recorded in the Records
Different denominations, different time periods, and practices of different record keepers will effect how much information can be found in the records. This outline will show the types of details which might be found (best case scenario):

Baptisms
In Catholic and Anglican records, children were usually baptized a few days after birth, and therefore, the baptism record proves date of birth. Other religions, such as Baptists, baptized at other points in the member's life. Baptism registers might give:

Marriages
Marriage registers can give:

Burials
Burial registers may give:

Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Watch for digitized copies of church records to be added to the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Somalia.
 * b. Click on Places within Somalia and a list of towns will appear.
 * c. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

Writing for Records
You will probably need to write to or email the national archives, the diocese, or local parish priests to find records. See French Letter Writing Guide for help with composing letters.

Writing to a Local Parish
Earlier records can be held at the diocese, with more recent records still kept in the local parish. To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a diocese or local parish, consult:
 * The Catholic Directory: Somalia

Historical Background
In 1913, during the early part of the colonial era, there were virtually no Christians in the Somali territories, with only about 100–200 followers coming from the schools and orphanages of the few Catholic missions in the British Somaliland protectorate. There were also no known Catholic missions in Italian Somaliland during the same period. In the 1970s, during the reign of Somalia's then Marxist government, church-run schools were closed and missionaries sent home. There has been no archbishop in the country since 1989, and the cathedral in Mogadishu was severely damaged during the civil war.