Portugal, Bragança, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. The Portugal, Bragança, Catholic Church Records collection is available to the Family History Library, FamilySearch Centers, and to members of the supporting organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The images can be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you.

Title in the Language of the Records
Registros Paroquiais da Igreja Católica da Diocese de Faro, Portugal

Record Description
This is a collection of church records from parishes in the Diocese of Bragança for the years 1541-1911 it includes baptisms, marriages, and burial/deaths. These parish records have been preserved relatively well. Some of the older registers may have some physical damage due to natural causes; therefore, some data may be difficult to read or some even may be lost. However, in general, they are in good condition for extracting genealogical information. The original parish records were kept in the parish archive under the custody of the priest and a duplicate register was regularly sent to the diocesan archive where the records were centralized and kept at a higher state of preservation. The text of the records is in Portuguese. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style, but newer records were handwritten in formatted registers.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browselink from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Baptismal records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names and their occupation
 * Names of paternal grandparents
 * Names of maternal grandparents
 * Names of godparents

Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of the marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Groom's age, birth date and place of birth
 * Groom's civil status (widowed, single, or divorced)
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Bride's age, birth date and place of birth
 * Bride's civil status (widowed, single, or divorced)
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses, their civil status and residence

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Name and gender of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Civil status of deceased person
 * Spouse's name if married
 * Parents' names, their occupation and residence
 * Cause of death
 * Burial information

How to Use the Records
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "District" category ⇒Select the "Municipality" category ⇒Select the "Civil Parish" category ⇒Select the "Parish" category ⇒Select the "Record Type and Years" 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. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Portuguese. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:

Portuguese Genealogical Word List

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

 * Dioceses of Portugal
 * Anuario Católico – Lista das paróquias

Related Wiki Articles

 * Portugal
 * Portugal Catholic Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Portugal, Bragança, Catholic Church Records, 1541-1985

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 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.