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In depth
A diocesan archive (archivio diocesano in Italian, archiwum diecezjalne in Polish) is the archive of a Catholic diocese, holding parish records (baptisms, marriages, burials) from churches within the diocese.
For CBD cases, diocesan archives are critical for: (1) ancestors born before civil registration was established, (2) ancestors whose civil records were destroyed (war, fire, natural disaster), and (3) ancestors from small towns where the parish was the primary record-keeper.
Each diocese has its own archive with its own access policies. Some are well-organized and respond to requests; others require in-person visits or local researcher assistance. Our network of genealogists have working relationships with diocesan archives across Italy, Poland, Ireland, and Latin America.
Related terms
A parish record is a church document (baptism, marriage, burial) maintained by a parish, used as a substitute for civil records in historic CBD cases.
A baptismal record is a church document certifying a baptism, used as a substitute for a civil birth certificate when civil registration did not exist or was destroyed.
Genealogy is the study of family history and descent, the foundational research discipline for CBD cases.
A family tree is a diagram showing family relationships across generations, the visual representation of the citizenship chain in CBD cases.
A pedigree is a documented line of descent, the formal genealogical record used to prove the citizenship chain in CBD cases.
An ahnentafel is a numbered list of ancestors in a pedigree, using a specific numbering system that allows compact representation of multi-generational lineages.