Nauru Church Records

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

Historical Background
The main religion practiced on the island is Christianity (the main denominations are Nauru Congregational Church 35.71%, Roman Catholic 32.96% Assemblies of God 12.98% and Baptist 1.48%).[2] The Constitution provides for freedom of religion. The government has restricted the religious practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jehovah's Witnesses, most of whom are foreign workers employed by the government-owned Nauru Phosphate Corporation. The Catholics are pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarawa and Nauru, with see at Tarawa in Kiribati.

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:

Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Watch for digitized copies of church records to be added to the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Nauru.
 * b. Click on Places within Nauru and a list of towns will appear.
 * c. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

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.
 * Google Maps search results for churches in Nauru

Writing to a Local Parish
Earlier records can be held at the diocese, with more recent records still kept in the local parish. To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a diocese or local parish, consult:
 * The Catholic Directory: Nauru
 * Maps search results for Catholic churches in Nauru'''

Historical Background
The Catholic Church in Nauru is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. According to the CIA World Factbook, Catholicism is narrowly the second largest Christian denomination in Nauru after Nauru Congregational Church, who made up 35.4% of the overall population at the time of the 2002 Census, with Catholics accounting for 33.2%. Christianity arrived in Nauru at the end of the 19th Century, brought by both a Catholic missionary and a Congregational minister. These two denominations remain the dominant religious affiliations on the island. The Catholic Church established the Vicariate Apostolic of Gilbert Islands in 1897. In 1966, the Vicariate was elevated to become the Diocese of Tarawa. In 1978, the name changed to Diocese of Tarawa, Nauru and Funafuti. This was split in 1982 into the Mission "Sui Iuris" of Funafuti and the Diocese of Tarawa and Nauru.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Assembly of God churches in Nauru

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Baptist churches in Nauru

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Congregational churches in Nauru