The Archives safeguard official church administrative and sacramental records for the diocese, parishes and schools.
The Archives Office is the official repository of the Diocese of San Diego and is charged with collecting, preserving and making available sacramental and church administrative records for the diocese, parishes and schools, as permitted by civil and canon law.
The archives are not open to the public, but information is made available to the Catholic community, diocesan officials, historians and other researchers. Please use the online form to request an archive. Depending on the information requested, additional documentation may be required.
The information is provided free of charge, but donations are appreciated to help us cover the cost of maintaining the archives.
Sacramental records are provided for church-related purposes, and these are not open to public inspection. Individuals requesting sacramental records must complete the online archives request form.
We attempt to respond to all inquiries promptly; however, due to limited staffing, some requests may take up to a week or more to research.
Sacramental records, as well as funeral records, are kept at the parish where the celebration took place. In the event that a parish has closed or merged, it is the practice of the Diocese of San Diego that the sacramental records of the closed parish are transferred and maintained by the parish that took over the closed parish’s geographical territory. The diocesan archives, in accord with Canon Law, maintains non-updated copies of parish sacramental records and may be able to assist in identifying the parish where a sacramental record is currently kept.
Requests for sacramental records must be made at the parish where the sacrament took place. However, if you need assistance in finding the location of your record, you may complete the online Request Form and the diocesan archives may be able to assist in locating the record. The archives cannot issue copies for sacramental records, as the official records are kept and maintained at the parish where the sacrament took place.
There is no fee required; however, we do accept donations. These can be done online when submitting the Archives Request Form.
Military personnel’s sacramental records (received on base or by base chaplain) are maintained by the military Archdiocese and can be accessed at www.milarch.org.
While most non-Roman Catholic churches are easy to tell – some are more difficult because they appear to be Catholic and may even include the word “Catholic” in their name. There are various such faith communities in San Diego and Imperial Counties. These communities are NOT in communion with the Roman Catholic Church and often times do not provide the necessary preparation or prerequisites for particular sacraments. It should be noted that sacraments celebrated at these non-Roman Catholic faith communities are not officially recorded and may be completely invalid. Nevertheless, there is usually a way to address the situation so that all will be in accord with Church practice and regulations. Contact your parish for additional information and guidance.
For privacy reasons, we do not release any information to genealogy research companies or to individuals conducting genealogical research. Any and all requests for sacramental records must come from the individual soliciting the information or from a verifiable family member who has a church related reason for making the request.
Sacramental records are not open to public examination. Any requests for sacramental records must be done by completing the online Archives Request Form.
Students or academics conducting a research project who need specific information researched, may submit a request along with:
Follow the news about our Catholic community,
in English and Spanish.
Our Life is Mission
Nuestra Vida es Misión
