Portugal, Vila Real 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, Vila Real, 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. NOTE: The images for the Portugal, Diocese of Vila Real, Catholic Church Records, 1575-1975 collection are available online.

Title in the Language of the Records
Registros Paroquiais da Igreja Católica, Diocese da Vila Real, Portugal.

Record Description
This article covers the church records for Vila Real that were published in two separate collections; one collection under Portugal, Diocese of Vila Real Catholic Church Records for 1575-1975, housed at the Diocesan Archive and the collection Portugal, Vila Real, Catholic Church Records for 1533-1941, housed at the District Archive of Vila Real. These are records of marriages, and burial/deaths from parishes in the Diocese of Vila Real, Portugal. The text of the records is in Portuguese. Earlier records are handwritten in narrative style and newer records are handwritten in formatted registers.

Parish priests performed the ordinances for baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials, and the other holy sacraments in the jurisdiction of their assigned parish or parishes. All the original parish records were kept in the parish archive under the custody of the priest. However, a duplicate of these registers was regularly sent to the diocesan archive where the records were centralized and kept at a higher state of preservation.

Catholic Church parish registers were created to record the church sacraments of baptism, marriage, death, burial, and other ordinances performed on parishioners by an authorized priest in his area of

Catholic Church parish records are a reliable source for doing genealogical research in Vila Real, Portugal, before 1911, when the civil registration was implemented. For records after 1911, it is suggested that you research both the civil registry and the church records to verify information.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in the Portugal, Vila Real, Catholic Church Records, 1533-1941 collection, select the Browselink from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Groom's name and age
 * Groom's birth date and place of birth
 * Groom's baptismal date and place of baptism
 * Groom's civil status and residence
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Bride's name and age
 * Bride's birth date and place of birth
 * Bride's baptismal date and place of baptism
 * Bride's civil status and residence
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name, age and gender of deceased
 * Civil status and origin of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Parents' names, if deceased is a minor
 * 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

Search the collection by image 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.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

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
 * Diocese de Vila Real

Related Wiki Articles

 * Portugal Catholic Church Records
 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List

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, Vila Real, Catholic Church Records, 1533-1941
 * Portugal, Vila Real, Diocesan Records, 1575-1992

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 on FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.