 + GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION + Research GUIDE + |
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[ GUIDE to the LOCATIONS OF RECORDS] [ Brief GUIDE to United States Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions. ] ++Select from below for links of a more general nature.++ [ CATHOLIC BIOGRAPHIES*] [ CATHOLIC HISTORY*] [ The Byzantine Catholic Church in United States *] [ Learn about the CATHOLIC FAITH ] [Additional CATHOLIC LINKS ] [ Catholic Documents, Texts, & Archives ] [ General History & GENEALOGY Links to Maps & Aids *] * There are additional links to history, genealogy, and biography on local pages, which include links to local Archdioceses, Dioceses, Churches, and more... [ Dictionaries *if you do not speak the language, these may prove helpful] Logos - Multilingual E-Translation Portal If you would like to add a graphic link to this site, you may use this Catholic Research button graphic to link to http://home.att.net/~Local_Catholic/   This Local Catholic Church and Family History site was named, by Family Tree Magazine, among the 101 Best New Web Sites, in the August 2004 issue, of Family Tree Magazine! Thank you Family Tree Magazine!  This Local Catholic Church and Family History site was named, by Family Tree Magazine, among the 101 Best New Web Sites, in the Special Interests Category, in the August 2001 issue, of Family Tree Magazine! Thank you Family Tree Magazine! |
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Are you researching ancestors who were members
of the Catholic Church?
Would you like to know more about the History of the Local Catholic
Churches?
This site is intended as a helpful guide. You may select to
read
[GUIDE TO THE TYPES OF RECORDS THAT MAY BE
FOUND]
[ GUIDE to the LOCATIONS OF RECORDS]
[ Brief GUIDE to United States
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions. ]
or Choose the [ GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION ] of genealogical &/or historical interest from below for resources to both Roman and Eastern Catholics who submit to the Vicar of Christ, the pope, in Rome, while celebrating with unique traditional Liturgical Rites.
(What are Rites? see guide.)
1999 Byzantine Calendar
| + CANADA + + EUROPE and ASIA + + UNITED STATES + + MEXICO + + AFRICA + + CENTRAL AMERICA & ISLAND COUNTRIES + + SOUTH AMERICA + |
[The Vatican]
[ MEXICO ] [UNITED STATES] [ CANADA ]
[SOUTH AMERICA]
[CENTRAL AMERICA and ISLAND COUNTRIES]
[ AFRICA ] [EUROPE and ASIA] [ AUSTRALIA and OCEANIA ]
Read this beautiful tribute to a local New Jersey Catholic Parish:
St. Peter’s Parish – 50th Anniversary Observance Homily - June 28, 1998 By Rev. William J. Brogan. (archived page)
Thank you to John Vernoski, of Byzantine Catholic Church in America - http://www.byzcath.org/, who has kindly given guidance, and helped me grow in my understanding of the Byzantine Catholic Church.
I am still in infancy, but hope to continue to grow and learn.
*EWTN, Global Catholic Network: Library and Document Search.
L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly News from the Vatican (English Edition)
Catholic News Service
originsonline.com - The Catholic News Service documentary service.
ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome
Catholic World News: Catholic News Briefs
Daughters of St. Paul: My Friend Kids Page
Christian Kid's Links
Students learn 'real' history from real life stories at St. Joseph's Parish as reported May 20, 1999, in The New Catholic Miscellany ("...Successor to the U.S.Catholic Miscellany, the first Catholic newspaper in the United States...")
Ecclesia in America by John Paul II - published by the Vatican, Vatican, January 22, 1999 - submitted by Darden Brock to Petersnet.
The Martyrs of our century beatified by Pope John Paul II. - the Vatican site.
The Catholic Faith teaches that among liturgical celebrations, there are seven Sacraments (in the strict sense of the term) which were instituted by the Lord. The sacraments are visible signs of the communion and communication between God and men. They communicate God's Grace and sanctify, instruct, nourish faith, and give worship to God.
Records are kept for the reception of the sacraments of baptism and marriage that may be of great help when researching your ancestors.
It should be noted that not all sacraments would necessarily be received by all Catholics, and there may be differences between Western (Roman) and Eastern Catholic Churches. For instance, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacraments of Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion) are often received at different ages, while in the Byzantine Catholic Church, as in most of the Eastern Catholic Churches, these three Sacramental Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Eucharist are given together to infants.6 Furthermore, though it is possible in the Roman Catholic Church for someone to receive both the sacrament of matrimony (marriage) and Holy Orders (bishops, priests, and deacons), it would not be common, since Roman Catholic priests are not usually married. The Byzantine Catholic Church, however, has traditionally allowed for married men to be ordained to the priesthood.6
Since there are variations and exceptions, please keep in mind the following is only an informal guide to the ages at which Sacraments would often be received.
1. The Sacrament of Baptism - may be received in infancy.
2. The Sacrament of Reconcilliation or Penance - is commonly celebrated at 7 years of age, prior to receiving the sacrament of First Communion.
3. The Sacrament of First Communion or Holy Eucharist - is commonly celebrated at 7 years of age in the Roman Catholic tradition, and in infancy in the Byzantine Catholic tradition.
4. The Sacrament of Confirmation or Chrismation- may be celebrated at about 13 years of age in the Roman Catholic tradition, and in infancy in the Byzantine Catholic, and most Eastern Catholic traditions.
5. The Sacrament of Matrimony - Marriage - Sacramental Mystery of Crowning (the latter, a distinctive Byzantine Catholic marriage ceremony includes the crowning of the bride and groom).
6. The Sacrament of Holy Orders - "Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994, page 383: no. 1536).7 The presbyteriate (Priests), are consecrated to preach the Gospel, shepherd the faithful, and celebrate the Mass. They are guided by those who have received episcopal consecration (Bishops) which confers, together with the office of sanctifying, also the offices of teaching and ruling. Deacons help and serve both the episcopate and presbyteriate. The diaconate (Deacons) may be conferred on married men in both Eastern and Western Catholic traditions.
7. The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick
See also:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church :
Part 2, section 2: The Seven Sacraments and
Chapter 4: Other Liturgical Celebrations which discusses sacramentals, Christian funerals and the celebration of funerals.Choose the GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION If you DO know the name and location of your ancestors' Catholic Church/Parish, and it still exists:
GUIDE to the LOCATIONS OF RECORDS
A friendly and precise request, for baptism, marriage, or funeral records, sent to the church office, may provide you with the desired records.
Your letter should include details of your ancestor, such as: name, birthdate, marriage date, etc. (If dates are unknown, try to give a close estimate of the dates.)
Please keep in mind that the work of the Church is ongoing, parishes may vary greatly in their staffing, and records may or may not be indexed by surname, therefore it is advisable to limit your request to two or three specific records.If you DO NOT know the name and location of your ancestors' Catholic Church/Parish, or it no longer exists:
You will need to determine the parish to which your ancestor belonged, and this may involve some HISTORICAL DETECTIVE work on your part.
Their parish will likely be the local Catholic Church nearest their home (geographically). However, as time passed, and the population of an area grew (or diminished), there was often a need to build new churches, and establish new dioceses and parishes. Therefore, your research may require combining church HISTORY with GENEALOGY.
Example:
You would like a copy of your great grandmother's 1890 baptism record, and a phone directory shows there is a St. Mary's Catholic Church near her childhood residence, however, you were informed her baptism record was not found at that parish.
A bit of HISTORICAL DETECTIVE work may show that St. Mary's was not established until 1970, so your next step may be to try to determine which parishes existed in the area in 1890. Resources for this may include Diocese, Church and Parish histories, City Directories, Atlases (of the necessary era), local county and town histories, 1890s newspapers, etc.
These resources may also help you overcome some apparent "brick walls" in your genealogy. I found a "missing" funeral record after I learned that the Church was destroyed by fire, and during the year-long rebuilding period, parishoners attended a neighboring parish.
Now, you are ready to BEGIN:
You may use this guide site to help you determine the name and address of the parish church.
1. Begin by Selecting the Country of your ancestor's residence.
For example, you may choose the United States.
2. Select the area within the Country nearest the geographic location of your ancestor's residence.
For example, choose the state of Indiana.
3. Select the Archdiocese or Diocese in location that is nearest your ancestor. Many of the Archdioceses and Dioceses have web sites online which include a directory of the parishes within their jurisdiction. Many have also posted histories online. In addition to helping you learn more about the events in the Catholic Churches of the area, these Histories may be critical to locating your ancestor's sacramental records, since new dioceses may have been established and jurisdictions may have changed many times through the years, as new countries formed or areas were settled.
For example, the geographic area of Fort Wayne, Indiana was once included in the ecclesiastical province of Quebec among others.
4. Some of the parishes have web sites of their own. If your parish of interest has a web site, do visit the site which may include addresses, histories, photos, etc. of interest to you.
*Notes:
If you find that the parish church no longer exists, it is possible that the records have been transferred to the archives of the Diocese where the church was located. The Archivist at the Diocese Chancery2 may be able to help you to locate records.
Areas were/are often served by priests from another Catholic Church while they were/are developing and becoming more populated. These are called missions. Records for these may be able to be located at the parish where the visiting priests are established.
Additionally, copies of records for sacraments received later in life, such as, marriage, may traditionally be sent to the church where the person was baptized as well.Choose the[ GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION ]
Return to MENU
How do I find the local Catholic Church in the United States?
Read the following, then click on the state or country of residence.The Catholic Church in the United States is organized into divisions of organizational structure and jurisdiction that have, for the most part, geographical boundaries consisting of 33 provinces, with 33 Archdiocese which are metropolitan sees, and 150 Dioceses. In addition, there are Eastern-Rite Jurisdictions which are immediately subject to the Holy See, and an Armenian-Rite apostolic exarchate for the U.S. and Canada. There is also a Military Services Archdiocese.
In other countries, the structure will often be similar.
The Eastern-Rite jurisdictions in the United States are 1. The Eparchies of St. Maron (Maronites), 2. Newton (Melkites), 3. St. Thomas Apostle of Detroit (Chaldeans) 4. St. George Martyr of Canton, Ohio (Romanians), 5. Pittsburgh, PA (Ruthenian) and 6. Philadelphia, PA (Ukrainian).1
The Romanian Byzantine Catholics in the United States are under the jurisdiction of the local Latin rite dioceses, and others may attend the local Roman Catholic churches as well depending upon the availability of local Eastern Catholic churches and services in their area of residence.
See also : Eastern Catholic Church in the United States (unofficial directory)
& Eparchies of Parma, Passaic and Van
Nuys.
Unofficial
with parish directory (AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OH, OK, west PA, TX, WV)
Byzantine Catholic & other Eastern Catholic Parishes in North America Online The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies Saint Paul University - 223 Main Street - Ottawa, Canada K1S 1C4
PH: (613) 236-1393 (ext.2332) FAX: (613) 782-3026
E-mail: sheptytsky@utpaul.uottawa.ca
"...This Institute is named after the primate of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Andrey Sheptytsky (1865-1944), who dedicated his life to the furthering of East-West understanding and rapprochement between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches...it is one of the four academic units of Saint Paul University's Faculty of Theology..." [est. 1986 at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, relocated to Ottawa, Canada in 1990]
Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies a tri-lingual (English, French, Ukrainian) Journal Publication of The Sheptytsky Institute.Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg: Worldwide History of the Byzantine Catholic Church. St. Paul University - Ottawa, Canada 223 Main Street - Ottawa, Canada K1S 1C4 Phone: (613 ) 236-1393
A Catholic University, "...Founded in 1848 as the College of Bytown, it became the University of Ottawa in 1866, and Saint Paul University in 1965...With the largest Christian studies library in Canada, Saint Paul University is also one of the world's major Canon Law resources..."
Saint Paul University Library - History and Resources.
Saint Paul University Links Page has included a link to the main page of this Local Catholic Church History and Genealogy Research Guide site. Thank you Father Jack!Edith Stein - Saint Teresia Blessed of the Cross: a new saint with special connection to those Catholics of the Melkite tradition. Ukrainian Language and Culture Home Page (not a Catholic page, but informative) Introduction to the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church - Fr. Hal Stockert The Study of Eastern Languages Byzantine Catholic Links page
Ancestry.com Daily News for January 13, 1999.
