Argentina Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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Foreign Language Title
Argentina, Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica

Collection Time Period
This collection of several parish records (such as baptism, marriage, and burial records) from several ecclesiastical jurisdictions of Argentina may cover the years from 1580 to the present.

How to Use the Records
Catholic Church parish records are an excellent source for genealogical research in Argentina. The records of baptism, marriage, and death may contain important information about other generations of ancestors. These may also be the only records available before the implementation of civil registration in 1930. After this date, civil authorities began registering vital statistics, which by law includes people of all religions. For genealogical purposes, the information in civil sources confirms and supplements the information in church records. To find the record of an ancestor, a person needs to know at least the name of the ancestor and a place and approximate year of an event in the ancestor’s life. If indexes are available, it is suggested to check for the name there first.

Record Description
The earlier records from this collection are all handwritten in a narrative format. Some later records are handwritten on printed forms, which may vary slightly from one priest to another. Generally, these records were written in chronological order. In smaller parishes, one book was used for all the ordinances (such as baptisms, marriages, and deaths). In larger cities, records of the different types of sacred ordinances were kept in separate books. Confirmations were generally recorded in the baptismal registers. Some of the older records are damaged, but most of the genealogical information can be extracted.

The key genealogical facts found in most marriage records are: • Place of marriage • Date of marriage • Names of the groom and bride • Witnesses’ names • Groom’s age • Bride’s age • Marital status of the groom and bride • Groom’s parents • Bride’s parents

The key genealogical facts found in most burial records are: • Deceased’s place of burial • Date of burial • Age at time of death • Deceased’s name • Deceased’s marital status and the spouse’s name, if married • Legitimacy • Parents’ names • Residence of the deceased • Place of death • Cause of death

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in most baptism records are: • Place of baptism • Date of baptism • Gender of the child • Date of birth • Name of the child baptized • Legitimacy • Parents’ names • Residence of the parents • Paternal grandparents’ names • Maternal grandparents’ names • Godparents’ names

Record History
Church records in Argentina were created in the city of Buenos Aires as early as 1580. However, this first book is missing from the Catholic Church’s archives. Other parishes began registering records in the state of Buenos Aires about 1769. Some of the records in several other localities date back to even earlier than the year 1580. The records were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah,

The Catholic Church is organized in ecclesiastical jurisdictions such as archbishoprics, dioceses, and local parishes. The church registers were and are created by the priest in charge of the parish where the ordinance was performed. The records are kept in a register in the local parish archive, and a duplicate copy is sent to the corresponding diocese or archdiocese for archival preservation.

In earlier years, one parish jurisdiction may have included more than one town or villa because priests traveled from one town to another baptizing most of the people.

Why This Collection Was Created?
The priests created the registers to record all the sacramental ordinances performed. Later, the local civil authorities also used these records for statistical purposes before the civil registration was implemented in 1930.

Record Reliability
Catholic Church parish registers are the primary source for birth, death, and marriage records in Argentina prior to 1930, when the civil registration was implemented.

Record Description
The earlier records from this collection are all handwritten in a narrative format. Some later records are handwritten on printed forms, which may vary slightly from one priest to another. Generally, these records were written in chronological order. In smaller parishes, one book was used for all the ordinances (such as baptisms, marriages, and deaths). In larger cities, records of the different types of sacred ordinances were kept in separate books. Confirmations were generally recorded in the baptismal registers. Some of the older records are damaged, but most of the genealogical information can be extracted.

Related Web Sites
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Related Wiki Articles
Argentina Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
It is recommended that you cite the sources of information as you search genealogical records. Citing sources will allow you to avoid duplicate searches later and share your sources with other researchers. A citation with specific details about the source document should allow yourself or others to easily find the source document at a later time. You should cite all sources searched, whether new information is found, to avoid duplicating searches without findings. Suggested Format: A suggested format for citations created to document information found in FamilySearch Record Search is: Collection title, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: date accessed or downloaded), items of interest.

Items of Interest Include:


 * Name of the person mentioned in the document
 * File, folder or jacket number
 * Locality
 * Record type
 * Page number
 * Line number
 * Date of entry
 * Digital identification number
 * Film number

You are Invited to Add Source Citations for a Record in This Collection: Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines listed above.


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

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Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of information for This Collection
"Argentina Catholic Church Records", database, FamilySearch Record Search (http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch), 2009. Digital copies of original records housed in diocesan archives throughout Argentina.