Costa Rica Church Records

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

Online

 * , index.
 * , index.
 * , index.
 * , index.

=Historical Background= Christianity is the largest religion in Costa Rica, with Roman Catholics having the most adherents. Roman Catholicism is the state religion, and the government generally upholds people's religious freedom in practice.

The Latinobarómetro survey of 2017 found that 57% of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholics, 25% are Protestants, 15% report that they do not have a religion, and 3% declare that they belong to another religion.

Most Protestants are Pentecostal with smaller numbers of Lutherans and Baptists. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) claims more than 35,000 members.

Quakers escaping compulsory draft from the Korean War founded a colony in Monteverde in 1950, the Amish founded a community in San Carlos in 1968, and the first Lutheran Church was founded in 1965. Anglicanism was brought by both British and Black Jamaicans and it has some 12,000 followers mostly in Limón Province. However, its see is the Good Shepherd Church in San José. There is also a Russian Orthodox Church located in the Vazquez de Coronado Canton for the small Orthodox community working not only for the Russian community, but also for other Orthodox including Greeks and Romanians.[38][39][40]

Although they represent less than 1 percent of the population, Jehovah's Witnesses have a strong presence on the Caribbean coast. Seventh-day Adventists operate a university that attracts students from throughout the Caribbean Basin. The Unification Church maintains its continental headquarters for Latin America in San Jose.

=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:
 * baptism date
 * the infant's name,
 * parents' names,
 * father's occupation,
 * status of legitimacy,
 * occasionally, names of grandparents,
 * names of witnesses or godparents, who may be relatives,
 * birth date and place,
 * the family's place of residence,
 * death information, as an added note or signified by a cross.

Marriages
Marriage registers can give:
 * the marriage date and
 * the names of the bride and groom,
 * indicate whether they were single or widowed and
 * their ages,
 * their birth dates and places
 * residences,
 * occupations,
 * birthplaces, and
 * parents' names (after 1800)
 * the names of previous spouses and their death dates,
 * names of witnesses, who might be relatives.

Burials
Burial registers may give:
 * the name of the deceased and
 * the date and place of death or burial.
 * the deceased's age,
 * place of residence, and
 * cause of death
 * the names of survivors, especially a widow or widower,
 * deceased's birth date and place and
 * parents' names

=How to Find Records=

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 Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Costa Rica.
 * b. Click on Places within Costa Rica 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 the Spanish Letter Writing Guide for help with composing letters.

= Catholic Church Records =

Writing to a Local Parish
To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a local parish, consult:
 * The Catholic Directory: Costa Rica

Historical Background
The Catholic Church in Costa Rica is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are approximately 3.2 million Catholics in Costa Rica - 76% of the total population. The country is divided into eight dioceses and one archdiocese:
 * Archdiocese of San José de Costa Rica
 * Diocese of Alajuela
 * Diocese of Cartago
 * Diocese of Ciudad Quesada
 * Diocese of Limón
 * Diocese of Puntarenas
 * Diocese of San Isidro de El General
 * Diocese of Tilarán

During colonial times the Catholic Church in Costa Rica did not have as much power and influence as in other parts of the Spanish Empire as Costa Rica was one of the poorer and more rural provinces, far from its local capital, thus the Catholic hierarchy had little interest in it. Costa Rica's first constitution, the Pact of Concord established the Catholic religion as the one that "is and always would be" of the land and banned any other religion, except in the case of foreigners who were there for transit or commerce and who could practice their religion freely as far as they do not proselytize.

The 1825 Fundamental Law of the State of Costa Rica as part of the Federal Republic of Central America also established the state religion status of Catholicism, but did not explicitly banned the rest. This was also established as such by the Federal Constitution. However, this was reformed in 1835 at federal level granting freedom of religion and making the Central American Federation a secular state.

=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Records=

Online Records
Information is available to current members only for deceased members and immediate family members who are still living. Sign in to FamilySearch and then select Family Tree in the drop-down menu.

Historical Background
The First Presidency authorized President Arwell L. Pierce of the Mexican Mission to add Costa Rica to his mission in July 1946. He visited the country in September of that same year, staying at the home of H. Clark Fails, a member of the Church living there.

The first missionaries, Elders Robert B. Miller and David D. Lingard, arrived in Costa Rica about this same time in early September. They presented the president of the Republic with a copy of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Missionaries left Costa Rica in 1948 to avoid a national revolution, but returned in time to enjoy a Pioneer Day celebration with Church members on 24 July 1949.

The first conference of the Church in the country was held 7 June 1950, and about 70 attended. A local unit (branch) was organized on 25 August 1950, and property for the first chapel was purchased in 1951.

During the 1950s the Church grew slowly, with several visits from General Authorities. In 1952, the Central American Mission was organized apart from the Mexican Mission. In 1965, the Guatemala-El Salvador mission was organized and included the country of Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Mission was organized 20 June 1974.

Total Church Membership: 50,282. Congregations: 79.

=References=