Costa Rica, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica en Costa Rica.

Collection Time Period
This collection of parish records from 1595 to 1992 cover about 90 to 95% of a city’s population. This collection only includes the parish records that were centralized in the archdiocesan archive at the time of microfilming.

Record Description
The parish records of the Archdiocese of San José de Costa Rica have been preserved relatively well. Some of the older registers may appear to have some physical damage; therefore some data may have been lost or may be very difficult to read, however, in general they are in good condition to extract genealogical information.

Record Content
Important genealogical information found in Catholic Church baptismal records include: 


 * Date and place of the event
 * Name of principal (person baptized)
 * When and where principal was born or age at time of baptism
 * If principal was legitimate or illegitimate
 * Parents names, their residence and/or place of birth
 * Names of maternal and paternal grandparents
 * Names of godparents

Important genealogical information found in Catholic Church marriage records include: 

Date and place of the event


 * Complete maiden name of the bride and groom
 * Civil status (widowed, single, divorced) at the time of the event
 * Place and date of birth of the groom and bride
 * Occupation of groom and bride
 * Couple’s parents’ names, their residence, and/or place of birth
 * Sometimes, the parent’s civil status
 * Name of witnesses

Important genealogical information found in Catholic Church death records include:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name of the deceased, age or date, and place of birth
 * Place and date of birth and/or age at time of baptism
 * Cause of death
 * Residence of the deceased
 * It may mention if the person left children and/or a testament

How to Use the Records
The Catholic Church parish records are an excellent source for genealogical research in Costa Rica. These may also be the only records available before the implementation of the civil registration in 1887.

Record History
Parish priests performed the baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, and other holy sacraments in their assigned parish or parishes. All the original parish records were kept in the parish archive; however, the older records were centralized in the archdiocesan archive, as it is done currently. Parish records cover 95 to 100% of a city’s population. This collection only includes the parish records that were centralized at the archdiocesan archive at the time of filming.

Why This Collection Was Created
Catholic Church parish registers were created to record the church sacraments of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, burials, and other ordinances.

Record Reliability
Catholic Church parish records are a reliable source for doing genealogical research in Costa Rica.

Related Web Sites
Costa Rica Church Records, 1595-1992

Related Wiki Articles
Costa Rica

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the wiki article listed above.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
"Costa Rica Church Records, 1595-1992." index and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org): accessed March 18, 2011). entry for Maria Josefa Perez, baptized 6 August 1864; citing Church Records, reference 384, FHL microfilm 1,219,370; Archivo Metropolitano de la Arquidiocesis de San Jose de Costa Rica.

Sources of Information for This Collection:
"Costa Rica Church Records 1595-1992", index and images, FamilySearch; from Archivo Metropolitano de la Arquidiócesis de San José, Costa Rica. Costa Rica church records, 1959-1993. Arquidiócesis de San José de Costa Rica. FHL microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.