Mexico, Baja California and Baja California Sur, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Foreign Language Title
Registros Parroquiales de la Iglesia Católica en el Estado de Baja California y en el Estado de Baja California Sur, México.

Collection Time Period
This collection covers church records from parishes in Baja California and Baja California Sur or years 1750 to 1983.

Record History
In 1527 the Roman Catholic Church was established in Mexico with the creation of the Tlaxcala and Mexico dioceses. Parish registers were kept by the priest at the parish level. Parishes were local congregations that may have included smaller villages within their boundaries. A large city may have contained several parishes. The parishes had jurisdiction over both vice parishes (vice parroquias) and chapelries (capillar foraneas). Multiple parishes (parroquias) were under the jurisdiction of a diocese. The highest level of government in the Catholic Church was the archdiocese (arquidiócesis), which was made up of several dioceses. In 1995 the Catholic Church in Mexico had 14 archdioceses; 58 dioceses; 5,345 parishes; and 1,611 chapelries (subparishes). This collection covers the Catholic Church population living in parishes in the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. The majority of the population of these two states was Roman Catholic, and entries for them are found in parish registers. Only in the late 19th century did other religious groups begin to be established in the area.

Why was this collection created?

Mexican Catholic parish registers were created to record the church sacraments of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial.

Record Reliability
Catholic Church parish registers are the primary source for birth, death, and marriage records in Mexico prior to 1859. After 1859 parish records can be used as another source verifying information found in civil registers.

Record Description
Separate books were kept for baptisms, confirmations, marriage information documents, marriages, and burials. The entries were normally made in chronological order. Confirmations were not consistently recorded. In larger parishes a separate book was usually maintained for confirmations, while in smaller parishes the confirmations may have been included with the baptisms. Similarly, marriage information documents may have been included with marriages.



Record Content
Through the years the information found in Mexican Catholic parish registers may vary, however the most common genealogical information found are:


 * Date of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial
 * Event place is the parish unless noted otherwise
 * Name of the person being baptized, confirmed, married, or buried and sometimes the names of the parents, spouse, and other relatives
 * Age of the person being baptized, confirmed, married, or buried
 * Sex of the participants except for witnesses (sex can be inferred from the given name[[Image:Mexico Baja California Catholic Church Records Death.jpg|thumb|right]]
 * Place of residence of the family, marriage partners, or the deceased
 * Legitimacy of the child in baptismal entries
 * Social class of the parents in baptismal entries prior to 1820
 * Marital status of the individuals

How to Use the Record
Parish registers are the best Mexican record to identify individuals, parents, and spouses before 1859. After this date, civil authorities began registering vital statistics, and these become equally important. The information in civil sources confirms and supplements the information in church records. For instance, the parish registers may list the godparents while the civil records may list the grandparents. Be sure to search both the parish and civil records after 1860 since some families did not consistently register their children with either of them.

Related Websites
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Related Wiki Articles
Mexico, Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Mexico Church Records Mexico Church History

Sources of This Collection
"Mexico, Baja California and Baja California Sur Catholic Church Records," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org); from Vicariato Apostólico de la Paz and Diócesis de Tijuana. Registros parroquiales, 1750-1983. Original records also housed in local parish archives in both states. FHL 22 microfilm reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Digital copies of originals are also housed in various local repository archives throughout Baja California and Baja California Sur, Mexico.

The suggested format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections is found in the following article: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also 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: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection

 * 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.