Bolivia Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica en Bolivia

Record Description
This collection includes baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burial/deaths from Catholic Church parishes in the country of Bolivia. The text of records is handwritten in Spanish, mostly in narrative form; only in later years the records are handwritten in formatted registers. Generally, these records were written in chronological order. In smaller parishes, one book was used for all the ordinances, such as baptism, marriage, and death. In larger cities, separate books were kept for each of the ordinances. Confirmations were generally written in the baptismal registers.

For a list of localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

The influence of the Catholic Church in Bolivia had its beginnings somewhere around the mid 1500s, with the arrival of the Spaniards. All the sacramental ordinances were created, registered, and kept by the priest in authority of his parish jurisdiction. The parish jurisdiction may have included sub-parishes from nearby localities. One copy of the records was kept at the parish archive and another copy was sent to the diocesan archive for preservation. As the population and membership increased, also the parish jurisdictions were moved and more parishes were created.

This collection of Catholic Church parish records for the country of Bolivia includes the years 1566 to 1978.

The Catholic Church in Spain found it important for priest in Bolivia and other colonies to record the events of baptisms, marriages, and later of burials. Since then priest assigned to a jurisdiction recorded the ordinances, including some personal information, of his parishioners. This was needed for membership statistics and later became a benefit for the parishioners themselves.

Catholic Church parish registers are the primary source for finding genealogical information of birth, death, and marriage prior to 1943, when the civil registration law was enacted in Bolivia.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Copies of originals are also housed in different diocesan archives throughout Bolivia.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in most baptism records are:


 * Place of baptism
 * Date of baptism
 * Gender of the child
 * Date of birth
 * Name of the child baptized
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents’ names
 * Residence of the parents
 * Paternal grandparents’ names
 * Maternal grandparents’ names
 * Godparents’ names

The key genealogical facts found in most marriage records are:


 * Place of marriage
 * Date of marriage
 * Names of the groom and bride
 * Witnesses’ names
 * Groom’s age
 * Bride’s age
 * Marital status of the groom and bride
 * Groom’s parents
 * Bride’s parents

The key genealogical facts found in most death or burial records are:


 * Deceased’s place of burial
 * Date of burial
 * Age at time of death
 * Deceased’s name
 * Deceased’s marital status and the spouse’s name, if married
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents’ names
 * Residence of the deceased
 * Place of death
 * Cause of death

How to Use the Record
To search the collection, select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the Departmento ⇒ Select the Ciudad o pueblo ⇒ Select the Parroquia ⇒ Select the Tipo de registro y años which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.


 * 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.

Related Websites

 * Catholic Church Hierarchy
 * La Iglesia en Bolivia

Related Wiki Articles

 * Bolivia
 * Bolivia: Ethnic Groups

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
“Bolivia, Catholic Church Records, 1566-1996,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-24399-24467-35?cc=1922463&amp;wc=13953771: accessed 29 June, 2012), Santa Cruz &gt; Cotoca &gt; Purisima Concepcion &gt; Bautismos 1846-1925 &gt; image 357 of 426 images, Jose Nunez, 1922; citing Parroquia Purisima Concepcion, Cotoca, Santa Cruz, Bolivia.