Guatemala, Catholic Church Records, 1581-2023

What is in This Collection?

This collection of baptism, marriage, and burial records from parishes throughout Guatemala covers the years 1581 to 1977. For a complete list of all the parishes contained in the collection, see the Parishes in Guatemala coverage table. Separate books were kept for the sacramental ordinances of baptism, marriage, and burial. The entries were normally made in chronological order. Some confirmations may be found within the baptisms. The earlier parish records were all handwritten in narrative form, and later records were handwritten in formatted entries.

Reading These Records

These records are written in Spanish. For help reading them see:

• Spanish Genealogical Word List
• Brigham Young University: Spanish Script Tutorial

FamilySearch Learning Center:

• Reading Spanish Handwriting
• Paleogra-what?! Deciphering Spanish Handwriting - Introduction
• Registros Civiles y Parroquiales (In Spanish)

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for Guatemala, Catholic Church Records, 1581-1977.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Baptism Place of the event Date of the event Name of the child Age or date of birth of the child Gender and legitimacy Parents’ names Sometimes the names of the grandparents Names of the godparents

Marriage Place of the event Date of the event Names of the betrothed Age, marital status, and sometimes the race of the betrothed Birthplace or place of residence Gender and legitimacy Parents’ names Witnesses’ names

Burial Name of the deceased Burial date (often the same day as the death) Age at time of death Names of parents or spouse Residence of the deceased Cause of death

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1992 Baptism Record

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  1999 Marriage Record

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  1867 Burial Record

Tip: Don’t overlook important information that is often found in the margins of original records. For example in a birth record, you might find marriage or death information.