Eswatini Church Records

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

Historical Background
Christianity is the dominant religion in Eswatini.[2] The relative prevalence percentage vary by source. According to Pew Research, over 88% of the total 1.2 million population of Eswatini express Christianity to be their faith, over 0.2% express no affiliation. According to the CIA world fact book, the distribution is 40% Zionist, 20% Roman Catholic, Muslim 10.2%, other (including Anglican... Methodist) 3.0%. Anglican, Protestant and indigenous African churches including African Zionist, and Roman Catholics constitute the majority of the Christians in the country.

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:

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 Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Anglican churches in ESwatini]

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for African Zionist churches in ESwatini]

Writing to a Local Parish
To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a local parish, consult:
 * The Catholic Directory: ESwatini
 * Google Maps search results for Catholic churches in ESwatini

Historical Background
The Catholic Church in Eswatini is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are approximately 60,000 Catholics in Eswatini – around 5% of the total population. The country forms a single diocese – the Diocese of Manzini. The Catholic Church began in Eswatini in 1913 with the arrival of Servite missionaries who began work in Mbabane.

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Methodist churches in ESwatini]