El Salvador Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
El Salvador, Registros de la Iglesia Católica

Record Description
These records are in Spanish. This collection of church records for El Salvador includes the years 1655 to 1977.

This collection of Catholic Church records covers parishes throughout El Salvador. For a complete list of all the parishes contained in this collection, see the Parishes of El Salvador coverage table. The collection has baptism, marriage and burial records. The entries were normally made in chronological order. Some confirmations may be found within the baptism records.

Earlier parish records were all handwritten in narrative form; later records were handwritten in formatted entries. All the records are written in Spanish.

In 1563, the Council of Trent formalized record-keeping practices already being followed in much of the Catholic world. Separate record books were to be maintained for baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths or burials, and the format was standardized. However, in smaller areas all records may be recorded on one register. Following this format, the Catholic Church was the primary record keeper until the civil registration started in 1859. A large percentage, if not all, of the population of El Salvador is listed in these records. The entries were normally made in chronological order.

Catholic Church parish registers are a reliable source of information for family history research and the primary source for baptism, marriage, and death records in El Salvador prior to 1859. Catholic Church parish records after 1859 can be used to complement information found in civil registers.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page

Record Content
Baptism records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Name of child
 * Birth date of child
 * Names of parents
 * Names of godparents

Marriage records usually contain the following information:

Place and date of marriage


 * Name of bride and groom
 * Groom's age, civil status, origin and residence
 * Groom's parents’ names
 * Bride's age, civil status, origin and residence
 * Bride's parents' names
 * Witnesses’ names, age, civil status, occupation, origin and residence

Death/burial records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name of deceased
 * Deceased's age and gender
 * Sometimes birth date, birth place, and marital status
 * Cause of death
 * Parents' names of deceased
 * Burial date and place (sometimes)

Search the Collection
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Department" ⇒ Select the "City or Town" ⇒ Select the "Parish" ⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * The information in church records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.

Unable to find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help reading the records, see the following resources:


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * BYU Spanish Script Tutorial
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 1
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 2
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records, Lesson 3

Related Websites

 * Iglesia Católica en El Salvador
 * Online maps
 * Online histories
 * Online genealogical resources

Related Wiki Articles

 * El Salvador
 * El Salvador Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: El Salvador Catholic Church Records, 1655-1977

When you copy information from a record, you should 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.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.