Sao Tome and Principe Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Sao Tome and Principe, go to the Religious Records page.

Historical Background
In the 1970s, there were two significant population movements—the exodus of most of the 4,000 Portuguese residents and the influx of several hundred São Toméan refugees from Angola. The islanders have been absorbed largely into a common Luso-African culture. Almost all belong to the Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, or Seventh-day Adventist churches, which in turn retain close ties with churches in Portugal. Roman Catholic 55.7%, Adventist 4.1%, Assembly of God 3.4%, New Apostolic 2.9%, Mana 2.3%, Universal Kingdom of God 2%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%.

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 Sao Tome and Principe.
 * b. Click on Places within Sao Tome and Principe 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 Portuguese Letter-writing Guide for help with composing letters.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Assembly of God churches in Sao Tome and Principe

Writing to a Local Parish

 * Google Maps search results for Catholic churches in Sao Tome and Principe

Historical Background
The Roman Catholic Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe (Latin: Sancti Thomae in Insula) is a diocese, immediately subject to the Holy See, with its seat in the city of São Tomé in São Tomé and Príncipe.[1][2] It covers the territory of the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. As of 2015, 112,000 or 57.4% of the inhabitants of São Tomé and Príncipe were catholic. The diocese was established on 3 November 1534 as the Diocese of Tomé from Metropolitan Archdiocese of Funchal in Portugal. The diocese initially included the Portuguese controlled or Christian areas of southwestern Africa. In 1596, it lost territory to the new diocese of São Salvador do Congo (today's Angola). in 1818 it lost territory to the new Apostolic Vicariate of Cape of Good Hope (today's South Africa). In 1842 it lost territory to the new Apostolic Prefecture of the Two Guineas and Senegambia (much of central and west Africa). In 1924, the diocese was renamed Diocese of São Tomé. In 1957 it was renamed to its current name Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Jehovah's Witnesses churches in Sao Tome and Principe

Writing for Records
Igreja Maná - São Tomé E Príncipe 3 de Fevereiro Ao lado da Embaixada de Angola São Tomé Telephone: +239 222 4655
 * Facebook

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for New Apostolic churches in Sao Tome and Principe

Writing for Records

 * SDA Directory
 * Google Maps search results for Seventh-day Adventist churches in Sao Tome and Principe