Puerto Rico, Catholic Church Records, 1645-2021

What is in This Collection?

This collection includes records of Catholic Church baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials for the years 1645-1969. Indexes were created in several church parishes of Puerto Rico.

At the time of the creation of the records in this collection, the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico was divided into several dioceses, including the Diocese of Puerto Rico, which was erected in 1511. The diocese's name was changed in 1924 to the Diocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico. In 1960, the diocese was elevated to archdiocese with the name of Archdiocese of San Juan of Puerto Rico. Other dioceses listed in this record’s collection are the Diocese of Ponce (erected in 1924), the Diocese of Arecibo (erected in 1960), and the Diocese of Caguas (erected in 1964). Since the time period of this collection, two more dioceses have been erected: the Diocese of Mayaguez (erected in 1976) and the Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao (erected in 2008).

These records were handwritten in Spanish by the priest in charge of the jurisdiction where the event took place. Most of the records are written in narrative style. Depending on the priest, some records have more information than others.

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:

• Spanish Genealogical Word List
• BYU Spanish Script Tutorial

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

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1922 Baptismal Record

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  1829 Confirmation Register

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  1916 Marriage Record

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  1896 Burial Record