Cape Verde Church Records

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

How to Find the Records
The original church records of Cape Verde can be found at the National Archive and the Roman Catholic Diocesan Archive.

Online Resources and Websites

 * 1787-1957 - at FamilySearch — index and images (records in Portuguese)

Historical Background
Cape Verde was discovered and colonized by Portugal in the 1400s. Catholicism was established on Cape Verde by Portuguese traders in 1533. Mandated by the Council of Trent in the 16th century, church records are the primary genealogical source for Cape Verde; church records were kept from the 1600s onward. Many are available online.

Information Recorded in the Records
Baptism records usually list:
 * Name of child
 * Name of parents
 * Birth date and place of child
 * Names of grandparents (occasionally)

Marriage records usually list:
 * Name of groom
 * Name of bride
 * Marriage date and place
 * Name of parents (occasionally)

Death records usually list:
 * Name of deceased
 * Death date and place
 * Residence
 * Age
 * Names of family members or relatives

Assemblies of God Records
The Assemblies of God was founded in the early 1900s and reached Africa soon afterwards. For more information, see Christianity in Cape Verde and Assemblies of God.

Church of the Nazarene Records
The Church of the Nazarene was established in 1908 and soon afterwards entered Africa. It is the largest Protestant denomination in Cape Verde. For more information, see Christianity in Cape Verde and Church of the Nazarene.

Evangelical Records
Evangelicalism has been in Africa since the late 1800s. However, in the 1920s and 1930s there was a revival movement in East Africa. This revival contributed to the substantial growth of Evangelicalism in Cape Verde. For more information, see Christianity in Cape Verde, Evangelicalism, and East African Revival.

Pentecostal Records
Pentecostalism spread to Africa in the early 1900s by missionaries. For more information, see Christianity in Cape Verde and African Pentecostalism.

Seventh Day Adventist Records
For more information, see Christianity in Cape Verde.

Universal Church of the Kingdom of God Records
The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God was founded in 1977. For more information, see Christianity in Cape Verde and Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.