Colombia, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica en Colombia

Record Description
This Collection will include records from 1600 to 2010.

The earlier records from this collection are all handwritten in a narrative format. Some later records are handwritten on printed forms, which may vary slightly from one priest to another. 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, records of the different types of sacred ordinances were kept in separate books. Confirmations were generally written in the baptismal registers. Some of the older records are damaged, but most of the genealogical information can be extracted.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

This collection of church records covers several parishes in dioceses and archdioceses of Colombia.

Some of the records in this collection may have been created in a different ecclesiastical jurisdiction than the one where these are currently housed. All the sacramental ordinances were created, registered, and kept by the priest in authority of his parish jurisdiction. The parish jurisdiction may include sub-parishes in other nearby localities. One copy of the records is kept at the parish archive and another copy is sent to the diocesan archive for preservation. Most of the parish records in this collection were acquired at the diocesan archives.

Catholic Church parish registers were created by priests authorized to record the church sacraments of baptism, marriage, death, burial, and other ordinances in their parish jurisdiction.

Catholic Church parish registers are the primary source for finding genealogical information of birth, death, and marriage in Colombia prior to 1935, when the civil registration was implemented.

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.

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


 * Date and place of child's baptism
 * Name and gender of child
 * Father's name
 * Father's marital status
 * Father's age and place of baptism
 * Names of father's parents
 * Legitimacy of child
 * Mother's name
 * Mother's marital status
 * Mother's age and place of baptism
 * Names of mother's parents
 * Names of witnesses and their identification information

The key genealogical facts found in most marriage records are:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Name, age and origin of groom
 * Name, age and origin of bride
 * Legitimacy
 * Groom's parents' names
 * Bride's parents' names
 * Names of witnesses

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


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of burial
 * Cause of death
 * Legitimacy
 * Marital status of deceased
 * Name of spouse if married
 * Parents’ names
 * Residence of deceased

The key genealogical facts found in most child recognition records:


 * Date of legal recognition
 * Name of the father
 * Father’s parents
 * Father’s place of baptism
 * Father’s marital status and spouse’s name
 * Father’s age
 * Father’s identification number and place of issue
 * Name of the child being recognized
 * Child’s place and date of baptism
 * Mother’s name
 * Mother’s parents
 * Mother’s place of baptism
 * Mother’s marital status and spouse’s name, if married
 * Mother’s age

How to Use the Records
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Departmento" category ⇒Select the "Ciudad/pueblo" category ⇒Select the "Parroquia" category ⇒Select the "Tipo de registro y años" category 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.

Catholic Church parish records are an excellent source for genealogical research in Colombia. The records of baptism, marriage, and death may contain important information about other generations of ancestors. These may also be the only records available before the implementation of civil registration in 1935. To find the record of an ancestor, a person needs to know at least the name of the ancestor and a place and approximate year of an event in the ancestor’s life. If indexes are available, it is suggested to check for the name there first.

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

 * Colombia Deaths, 1770-1930
 * Columbia Baptisms, 1630-1950
 * Colombia Marriages

Related Wiki Articles

 * Colombia

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.