Venezuela Church Records

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

Parish Registers
Parish registers are the documents kept by the Catholic Church since the year 1654 and contain books for registering church events: christenings, confirmations, marriages and deaths.

Time Coverage
Depending on when the parish was created, it is possible to find records beginning in 1550.

Baptismal Registers
Day, month, year, place (parish) where the baptism was performed, sex of the child, name(s); names and surnames of the parents and the godparents. Very rarely the names of grandparents are annotated or the place from where the ancestors originated.

Marriage Registers
Name(s), surname(s), date of birth, place and date of marriage, residence, age of those nombre(s), age of the couple if it is a civil state, name(s) and surname(s) of the parents and sometimes of the grandparents.

Burial Registers
Day and in which place the death occurred; name(s) and surname(s) of the deceased person, and the age and sex; name(s) and surname(s) of the parents and/or marital status (if the person is married or widowed); sometimes other types of information pertaining to the family or the character of the person.

Confirmation Registers
Day and place of the event; name(s), surname(s) and age of the confirmed; name(s), surname(s) of the parents and/or godparent(s).

Local Parishes in Venezuela
Parish registers are preserved in the original local church.

Microfilms
In the Family History Library catalog, look under "Venezuela, [PARISH NAME] - Church records" for microfilmed copies of the parish registers.

Online Church Records
Venezuela Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * 1577 - 1995 at FamilySearch — index and images