Digitizing Sacramental Records Project

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has initiated a project to digitize its sacramental registers in a public/private partnership with the leading family history website FindMyPast at https://www.findmypast.com/.

The goals of the project are two-fold:

To create preservation copies of the sacramental registers maintained by the Archdiocese’s parishes and institutions in accordance with canon law.
To participate in the Catholic Heritage Archive+ (https://www.findmypast.com/catholicrecords) created and maintained by FindMyPast.+: The Catholic Heritage Archive will make available to genealogists the digitized records of participating dioceses in the United States, Ireland, and Great Britain that are one hundred years and older.

Summary of Process

Parishes and institutions will be notified by the Chancery by phone and email two weeks prior to their drop-off date when to bring their registers to the Archives. An Incoming Inventory form that is to be filled out by every parish and institution will be provided at this time. The Incoming Inventory form is also available on this web page.
On the agreed-upon date, the Parish drops off its sacramental registers at the Archives with a completed Incoming Inventory form. For information on how to prepare and pack the registers see the FAQ sheet. Registers can be dropped off during the Archives’ regular hours: M-F 9:00 am-12:00 pm and 1:00-4:00 pm. In advance of your drop-off date, please contact Alison Foley at 410-864-4074 or archives@stmarys.edu and inform her of your arrival time.
Once the registers have been received and checked-in by the Archives, the Archives will email the Parish to confirm receipt of the registers.
After the registers have been digitized and reviewed for Quality Control, the Archives will notify the Parish that its registers have been completed. The Parish will be informed at this time if any registers are in need of repair. With the parish’s approval, arrangements will be made to send these registers to a bindery.
An Outgoing Inventory form will be prepared by the Archives. Registers classified as open (registers in which entries are 100 years and less) will be returned to parishes. Registers that are closed (registers in which entries are 100 years and older) will remain at the Archives. The Outgoing Inventory form will indicate which registers are being returned to the parish and which are remaining in the Archives.
For more detailed information, as well as for answers to frequently asked questions, please see the FAQ sheet.

Contacts

Chancery Office

Janet Franchy
Email: janet.franchy@archbalt.org
Phone: 410-547-5446
Fax: 410-727-5432
Address: 320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

Associated Archives

Alison Foley, Reference Archivist
Email: archives@stmarys.edu
Phone: 410-864-4074
Address: 5400 Roland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21210