Mexico, Chiapas, Catholic Church Records, 1557-1978

Catholic Church records created by parishes and dioceses in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. These records include: baptisms, confirmations, parish censuses, marriages, pre-marriage investigations, marriage dispensations, deaths, indexes, testaments, and other administrative records. This collection includes records from some parishes in the department of Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

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Mexico, Chiapas, Catholic Church Records

Source: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Mexico,_Chiapas,_Catholic_Church_Records_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records

What is in This Collection?

This collection contains Catholic Church records of the state of Chiapas in Mexico, with some records from parishes in Huehuetenango in Guatemala. The collection includes years 1557 to 1978. These records are in relatively fair condition, except for some older records that may be damaged and therefore hard to read or missing some information. Most of the older records are handwritten in narrative style and follow a common text with some variations depending on the style used by the priest. Newer records are handwritten in formatted registers; some are written in ledger style registers.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

Reading These Records

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

FamilySearch Learning Center videos:

Reading Spanish Handwriting

If you speak Spanish, the following free online lesson may be helpful to learn how to use the information in these records:

Registros Civiles y Parroquiales – Spanish

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for Mexico, Chiapas, Catholic Church Records, 1557-1978.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Baptism Records

Date and place of baptism
Name of child
Child's birth date and place
Gender
Legitimacy
Names of parents
Before 1820, social class of the parents
Sometimes the child's race

Marriage Records

Name of the diocese
Date and place of marriage
Groom's name and age
Groom's marital status and residence
Names of groom's parents and their residence
Bride's name and age
Bride's marital status and residence
Names of bride's parents and their residence
Names of the witnesses and their residence
Sometimes the legitimacy and race of the bride and groom

Death Records

Name and age of deceased
Date of death or burial
Place of death or burial
Sometimes name of spouse, if married
Sometimes names of parents
Origin or residence of deceased
Sometimes race of the deceased

Collection Content

For additional details about these records and help using them see Mexico Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records.

Sample Images

1967 Baptism Record
1963 Confirmation Record
1969 Marriage Record
1965 Marriage Information
1872 Death Record

Collection Details

Record Type: Vital

1,442,987 Records

13,624,003 Personas

968,865 Images

Language

Spanish

Location of Original Records

Parroquias Católicas, Chiapas (Catholic Church parishes, Chiapas)

Cite This Collection

"México, Chiapas, registros parroquiales y diocesanos, 1557-1978." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 29 July 2026. Parroquias Católicas, Chiapas (Catholic Church parishes, Chiapas).