Gabon Church Records

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

Historical Background
Major religions practiced in Gabon include Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Approximately 88 percent of the population (42% Catholic) practice one of the denominations of Christianity. Christianity arrived in Gabon through the Portuguese traders in early 16th century.[3] The Italian Capuchin friars set up Christian missions in the 17th century. The Portuguese missionaries and Italian friars cooperation ended in the 18th century, and the Portuguese officials expelled the Capuchin friars in 1777. New missions such as the Sacred Heart and Holy Ghost, as well as Protestant missions from Europe arrived in the mid 19th century. Catholicism had established itself in Gabon with the Portuguese colonial efforts in 18th century, and grown to be the leading denomination by 1900. With the start of French colonial rule, Christian missions from Paris arrived between 1890s and 1960. More evangelical Churches have grown since the mid 20th century. On February 3, 2016, the Gabonese Republic granted official recognition to the local Orthodox Church, including plans to erect the first Orthodox church in the capital city Libreville.

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

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

Historical Background
The Catholic Church in Gabon is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. It is endowed with the right to elect its own clergy, except archbishops. There are over 600,000 Catholics in Gabon - almost half the population divided in five major congregations. There are five dioceses including one archdiocese, plus an apostolic vicariate.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Alliance churches in Gabon

Historical Background
During the throes of the Great Depression, the first Alliance missionaries missionaries entered the country in 1934. The Christian and Missionary Alliance Church of Gabon: 115 organized churches, 145 unorganized groups, 91 ordained ministers, 11,226 baptized members, and 25,550 inclusive members.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Assembly of God churches in Gabon

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Orthodox churches in Gabon]

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Evangelical churches in Gabon

Historical Background
The Evangelical Church of Gabon (French: Égliese Evangélique du Gabon) belongs to the Reformed family of churches. It was created by American missionaries, the American Board of Foreign Missions worked in Gabon between 1842 to 1870. The Board of Foreign Mission of the Presbyterian Church (USA) worked from 1870 to 1913. The Paris Mission Society took over the mission till 1961, when the Evangelical Church of Gabon become independent. The church underwent several splits, and the denomination had hard times in the 1970s. In 1997 the Synod was formed. In April 2005 several dissenting groups reunified. From this time the united denomination extended its activities to south Gabon. The church has 108 congregations and 20,000 members. For more details, see Evangelical Church of Gabon at Reformed Online.