Philadelphia Roman Catholic Parish Registers Browse
Discover your Catholic ancestors in the parish registers from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
See description
Discover your Catholic ancestors in the parish registers from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Learn about these records
In this browse search, you can look through baptism and marriage registers from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The registers cover the years from 1800 to 1917.
Depending on the event type, when the event occurred, and the condition of the original records, the amount of information available on your ancestor will vary.
Keep in mind as you look through these records that most Roman Catholic registers were recorded in Latin. See our search tips below for assistance in deciphering the Latin found in these records.
Baptisms
- First name(s)
- Last name
- Birth year
- Birth date
- Baptism year
- Baptism date
- Father’s first name(s)
- Father’s last name
- Mother’s first name(s)
- Mother’s last name
- Residence
- Parish
- Deanery (group of parishes presided over by a dean)
- Town
- County
- Diocese
Marriages
- First name(s)
- Last name
- Sex
- Birth year
- Age
- Status
- Denomination
- Father’s first name(s)
- Mother’s first name(s)
- Marriage year
- Marriage date
- Spouse’s first name(s)
- Spouse’s last name
- Spouse’s birth year
- Spouse’s age
- Spouse’s status
- Spouse’s denomination
- Spouse’s father’s first name(s)
- Spouse’s mother’s first name(s)
- Parish
- Deanery
- Town
- County
- Diocese
These records are from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The diocese covers Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County. Originally formed as a diocese in 1808 by Pope Pius VII, it was made a metropolitan archdiocese in 1875. The Catholic Church has had a presence in the area since as far back as William Penn’s founding of the Province of Pennsylvania in 1681.
The counties included in this collection are Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia North, and Philadelphia South. Chester County is not included.
Search tips
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You can search on a year, event type, parish, town, and/or county.
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If you would like to search on a specific name, following the links to the index searches in the Useful links and resources section.
You may see the parenthetical notation of sub con next to your ancestor’s name. This notation stands for sub conditione meaning under the condition or, put simply, conditional. This means that the original baptism of the individual was in doubt – whether because the original sacrament was performed in a different Christian denomination where the validity is in question or was an emergency baptism. Additionally, it may refer to a child born of a mixed marriage, where only one parent is Catholic. In such a case, there may be questions as to whether a baptism was performed at all and, if it was, if it was done at the non-Catholic spouse’s church.
Some key words to be familiar with in these records (the Latin is in parentheses):
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Birth (nati, natus, genitus, natales, ortus, oriundus)
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Baptism date (datum baptismi), birth date (datum nativitatis)
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Birth place (locus nativitatis)
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Christening (baptismi, baptizatus, renatus, plutus, lautus, purgatus, ablutus, lustratio)
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Child (infans, filius/filia, puer, proles)
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Father (pater)
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Godparent (patrini, levantes, susceptores, compater, commater, matrina)
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Marriage date (datum matrim)
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Married together with (matrimonium contraxit cum)
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Mother (mater)
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Name and residence (nomen et residentia)
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Parents (parentes, genitores)
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Priest’s name (nomen sacerdotis)
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When (quando)
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Where (ubi)
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Witnesses (testes).