Guatemala, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Foreign Language Title
Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica en Guatemala.

Collection Time Period
This collection of baptism, marriage, and burial records from parishes throughout Guatemala covers the years of 1821-1920.

Collection History
The evangelization of Guatemalans by Catholic Church priests began in the 16th century. The records of baptisms, marriages, and burials they created help us become acquainted with the inhabitants and identify the importance of their families in the development of society. The history of cities in Guatemala is interwoven with the Catholic Church parish records. Most of the inhabitants of Guatemala were Roman Catholics; therefore, these records may well cover about 95% to 100% of the population in the years of 1821-1920.

Why This Collection Was Created
Catholic Church parish registers were created by priests authorized to record the church ordinances of baptism, confirmation, marriage, death, and burial, and other ordinances performed for the members within the jurisdiction of the parish.

Collection Reliability
Catholic Church parish registers are the primary source for birth, marriage, and death records in Guatemala prior to the implementation of civil registration in 1877.

Collection Description
Separate books were kept for the sacramental ordinances of baptism, marriage, and burial. The entries were normally made in chronological order. Some confirmations may be found within the baptisms. The earlier parish records were all handwritten in narrative form, and later records were handwritten in formatted entries. All the records are written in Spanish.

Record Content
These are the key genealogical facts found in most baptism records: • Place of the event • Date of the event • Name of the child • Age or date of birth of the child • Gender and legitimacy • Parents’ names • Sometimes the names of the grandparents • Names of the godparents

These are the key genealogical facts found in most marriage records: • Place of the event • Date of the event • Names of the betrothed • Age, marital status, and sometime the race of the betrothed • Birthplace or place of residence • Gender and legitimacy • Parents’ names • Witnesses’ names

These are the key genealogical facts found in most death records: • Place of the event • Date of the event • Name of the deceased • Marital status and age or date of birth of the deceased • Legitimacy • Parents’ names • If married, sometimes the name of the spouse • Cause of death • Place of burial

How to Use the Collection
Parish registers are the best records to identify individuals, parents, and spouses before 1877. After this date, civil authorities began registering vital events, and civil records become equally important. The information in civil records confirms and supplements the information in church records. For instance, the parish registers may list the godparents while the civil records may list the grandparents. The parish registers may be the only records available for genealogical research before civil registration was implemented in 1877. In order to find information in these church records, it is necessary to know the name of the ancestor and an approximate year of the birth.

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Sources of Information for This Collection
These are digital copies of original records housed at diocesan archives throughout Guatemala.

How To Cite Your Sources
Instructions for citing this source can be found at: Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes)