Search Wales Roman Catholic Baptisms

You will find information including

• First name
• Last name
• Birth date
• Baptism date
• Father's name
• Mother's name
• Parish
• Place

Images may provide additional information about your ancestor such as the names of your ancestor’s godparents, the minister who performed the baptism, and residence. Some registers will even include notes about the individual’s marriage.

Earlier church records were written freehand in register books, but in later years, they were recorded formally in printed registers. Until the 1960s, Latin was the official language of the Catholic Church. Therefore, until that time, many official church records were recorded in Latin. Even the names of individuals were Latinized.

Common Latin phrases

• Baptizandi - baptized
• Cognomen - surname
• Die - day
• Domicilium - residence
• Filia or Filius - daughter or son
• Matrina fuit - godmother was
• Mensis - month
• Natus - birth
• Patrinus fuit - godfather was
• Sponsoribus - sponsors

Findmypast is dedicated to adding further dioceses to this collection of Roman Catholic records. The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales placed a 110-year closure period on all sacramental records. Some of the parishes within these dioceses have retained their sacramental registers and are not included in the collection. Most of the sacramental registers date from the 19th century. Prior to 1918 most parishes were loosely organised into missions.

The Roman Catholic Church in Wales, including Cardiff, has a rich and vibrant history that intertwines with the region's social, cultural, and religious fabric. While the presence of Catholicism in Wales can be traced back to the early Christian period, it was during the 19th century, especially after the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, that Catholic communities began to flourish more openly. The period of industrialization and urban growth in places like Cardiff played a key role in this resurgence.

Cardiff, as the capital city of Wales, became a central hub for Catholic life. The influx of Irish immigrants, many of whom were Catholic, contributed significantly to the development of Catholic communities. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many parishes were established in Cardiff, including the iconic St. David’s Cathedral, which serves as the mother church for the Archdiocese of Cardiff. The cathedral, built in the 19th century, remains a focal point of Catholic worship and a symbol of the Church's enduring presence in the region.