Venezuela, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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

Record Description
This collection of church records covers the years 1577 to 1995 and includes parishes in several dioceses and archdioceses of Venezuela. This collection of baptisms, marriages, and burials were created, registered, and kept in separate registers by the priest in authority of the parish jurisdiction. Regularly two registers were created, the original was kept at the parish archive and a duplicate copy was sent to the diocesan archive for preservation.

The entries were normally created in chronological order. Some confirmations may be found within the baptisms book. The earlier parish records were all handwritten in narrative form, and later records were handwritten in formatted entries. All records were handwritten in Spanish.

The parish registers may be the only records available for genealogical research before civil registration was implemented in 1873. Most of the parish records in this collection were acquired from the diocesan archives. The Archdiocese of Merida registers have been published separated from this collection.

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

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

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Key genealogical information found in baptism records include:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Name of person baptized
 * Gender and date of birth
 * If legitimate or illegitimate
 * Parents’ names, their residence or/and place of birth
 * Names of godparents

Key genealogical information found in marriage records include:


 * Date and place of the event
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Sometimes the civil status (widowed, single, divorce) at the time of the event
 * Place of birth and residence of the bride and groom
 * Parents’ names
 * Name of witnesses

Key genealogical information found in death records include:


 * Place and date where the person died
 * Name of the deceased
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Place of burial
 * Parents’ names

How to Use the Record
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the Estado ⇒ 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.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Arquidiócesis de Caracas

Related Wiki Articles

 * Venezuela
 * Venezuela:Church Records

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
"Venezuela, Catholic Church Records, 1577-1995," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org https: accessed 22 May 2012) Falcon &gt; San Luis &gt; San Luis &gt; Bautismos 1803- 1896 &gt; Image 2 of 2022; citing Josef Santiago Rivera, baptism 23 January 1803, born 24 December 1802; Records of baptisms, marriages, burials, confirmations, marriage dispensations, pre-marriage investigations and other miscellaneous records for Catholic parishes of Venezuela. Archdioceses and Dioceses Archives throughout Venezuela.