Portugal, Vila Real Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This article covers the church records for Vila Real that were published in two separate collections: (1) collection under Portugal, Diocese of Vila Real Catholic Church Records for 1575 to 1992, housed at the Diocesan Archive, and (2) Portugal, Vila Real, Catholic Church Records for 1533-1941, housed at the District Archive of Vila Real. These are records of marriages, and burial/deaths from parishes in the Diocese of Vila Real, Portugal. These records are written in Portuguese. Earlier records are handwritten in narrative style and newer records are handwritten in formatted registers.

Parish priests performed the ordinances for baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials, and the other holy sacraments in the jurisdiction of their assigned parish or parishes. All the original parish records were kept in the parish archive under the custody of the priest. However, a duplicate of these registers was regularly sent to the diocesan archive where the records were centralized and kept at a higher state of preservation.

Catholic Church parish registers were created to record the church sacraments of baptism, marriage, death, burial, and other ordinances performed on parishioners by an authorized priest.

Catholic Church parish records are a reliable source for doing genealogical research in Vila Real, Portugal, before 1911, when the civil registration was implemented. For records after 1911, it is suggested that you research both the civil registry and the church records to verify information.

Reading These Records
These records are in Portuguese. For help reading them see:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Portuguese Letter-writing Guide

Collection Content
Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Groom's name and age
 * Groom's birth date and place of birth
 * Groom's baptism date and place of baptism
 * Groom's civil status and residence
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Bride's name and age
 * Bride's birth date and place of birth
 * Bride's baptism date and place of baptism
 * Bride's civil status and residence
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name, age, and gender of deceased
 * Civil status and origin of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Parents' names, if deceased is a minor
 * Burial information

Search the Index
Portugal, Vila Real, Diocesan Records 1575-1992

Portugal, Vila Real, Catholic Church Records, 1533-1941

View the Images
Portugal, Vila Real, Diocesan Records 1575-1992

Portugal, Vila Real, Catholic Church Records, 1533-1941

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Carefully evaluate each piece of information about other people listed in the record
 * Use the baptism date and place to find the family in census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate civil and land records
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to other types of records such as employment records or military records
 * The parents' places of origin can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * Marriage date and place may help you find their children
 * Burial place may also help to show their migration pattern. It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the records of nearby localities (or military unties, counties, parishes, etc.)
 * If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile baptism entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the baptism records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born, married, and died in the same place or nearby
 * 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 1800s
 * There is also some variation in the information given from record to record

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Portugal.
 * Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community
 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Portugal, Diocese de Vila Real Registros da Igreja Católica (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)