Researcher Access and Resources

What records can I access? 
Sacramental records are not public records, however, we are pleased to allow access to those dating from 1789 through 1950 for general research purposes.  Records from 1951 to the present will remain closed except to those named in the records or for official Church use.

The year 1950 represents the most recent US Census currently available to the public.  When the 1960 US Census becomes available, so too will our records be accessible through 1960.  For those wishing to find birth and marriage records from 1951 to the present, please consider contacting the city/town where the event took place or the MA Registry of Vital Records and Statistics.

There is a continuous effort to collect all records within the current access policy from parishes and make them accessible to researchers.  You can find the most up to date inventory of our holdings in our collections catalog by clicking here.

If the records you are seeking are not listed in our inventory, please contact us and we will be glad to direct you to the appropriate parish.

What can I expect to find?
Information varies greatly depending on the time period and parish; below is an overview of the information one might expect to find.  Please note that not all record types are available for every parish, and there may be substantial gaps for some years.

Baptism – Includes name of recipient, date of birth, date of baptism, parents, sponsors (godparents), and officiant.  May include current address or place of origin of parents and/or abbreviated records of other sacraments received. 

First Communion – Most early first communion records are simply a list of recipients with the date, the officiant is not always listed but it can be assumed to be a pastor or priest assigned to the parish.  More recent records may include abbreviated baptismal information, age, residence and/or parents of each recipient. 

Confirmation – Most early confirmation records are simply a list of recipients with the date, officiant and sponsor.  More recent records may include abbreviated baptismal information, age, residence and/or parents of each recipient. 

Marriage – Name of bride, name of groom, date of marriage, witnesses, officiant.  May include parents, residence, age, place of origin and/or baptismal information for bride and groom.  

Sick Calls – Includes name of sick individual, date of visit, attending priest, sacraments or services received.

Deaths – Includes name of deceased, age and date of death.  May include attending priest, last rites or other sacraments received, age, residence, place of death, date of burial, place of burial, funeral home and/or closest living relative.

How can I access sacramental records?
Online Access
Sacramental records 1789-1920 are available online via AmericanAncestors.org, and subscribers to Ancestry.com can search an index to the collection. For more information and links, please see our Digital Collections page.

Submit a Request
Researchers may contact the archive with record requests for Catholic records only.  Due to our small staff size, we cannot conduct extensive genealogy research outside of our own records. There is a fee for this service, a quote will be provided prior to commencing any research.    

Visit the Library
Our research library is open to the public by appointment only, Monday through Friday, 9:00a to 3:30p.  To schedule an appointment please send a request using our contact form.

What can I do to prepare before searching sacramental records?
Whether using our online collection, submitting a request to the archive staff, or visiting the research library, there are a few details you may want to locate beforehand to make the most of the sacramental record collection.  For each record, we recommend having the following:

• Name of individual who received the sacrament.
• (Approximate) date.
• Parish where sacrament was received.
  • If you do not know the parish, a few alternatives include:
    • Family’s address at/around the time of the event - You can use our parish boundary map tool to plot an address and determine which parish the family attended.  (Note:  For marriages, couples are traditionally married at the bride’s parish).

• • • The officiating priest in a marriage - We have available in our library Catholic directories dating from 1833 to the present, or you can find them online here.  For any given year, it will indicate which parish a priest was assigned to, and therefore the most likely place the marriage was recorded.
    • If information about a birth date, place of birth, or some other vital piece of information to locate baptismal records cannot be obtained, we recommend working backward from marriage records.  Most marriage records, usually around 1900 to present, will include the baptismal date and parish. 

Please click here to access the Parish Boundary Map Tool. 

The map dates to ca. 1955, roughly the height of the Archdiocese of Boston in terms of number of parishes.  It is intended to allow users to enter an address and determine which parish those living at the address would have most likely attended.

To access the map, click the down arrow next to "Open in Map Viewer" at the top right and select "Open in Map Viewer Classic."  Once the map has loaded, enter an address in the box at the top right and hit "Enter."

The research library of the Archdiocese of Boston is open to the public by appointment only.  Appointments are generally offered Monday through Friday, from 9a-3:30p. 

To schedule a visit, please contact archive staff using our contact form.  In your message, please include a brief description of your research interest and availability.

We do ask a fee of $10.00 per hour from those using the research library.  Cash or check can be accepted at the conclusion of each visit, or online by following this link.   

Location

• The archive and research library are located at the Pastoral Center, 66 Brooks Drive, Braintree, MA 02184. 
• Please note that the main entrance faces away from the street, you can recognize it by the brick driveway leading up to the main lobby doors.
• Researchers are welcome to use any space in the parking lot unless marked “Reserved.”  
• When you arrive, please check in at the front desk and a member of the archive staff will come meet you in the lobby.

Researching in the Library

Getting Started:

• Upon entry, researchers will be asked to place bags, coats, and other such items in a locker.
• Researchers will be asked to complete a registration form and review library policies prior to commencing research.
• Researchers may use personal electronic devices such as a phone, tablet or laptop; free Wi-Fi is available. 

Requesting Materials:

• Researchers are encouraged to use our collections catalog to identify materials relevant to their research.  Archive staff is also available to consult with researchers prior to scheduling an appointment and recommend relevant materials from within our collections.
• Depending on the quantity, some or all of these collections will be prepared in advance of the researcher’s arrival. 
• Additional consultation and requests can be made at any time during the research appointment, materials are retrieved from the shelves on a rolling basis.

Taking Pictures:

• Researchers are permitted to take reference photographs using their phone, tablet or camera with the flash disengaged.
• The use of personal scanners is not permitted.
• Archive staff can provide photocopies, scanned images, or copy photographs of documents.  Availability is at the archive staff discretion, and quantity or the condition of materials may prohibit providing reproductions.   
• Hi-resolution images and permission to use them in a publication can be provided, please ask archive staff for more information.  

Cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Boston are divided into three groups: those managed by the Catholic Cemetery Association of the Archdiocese of Boston, those managed by individual parishes, and those which are managed by private Catholic cemetery associations. 

To determine which category a specific cemetery belongs to please review this list of cemeteries from the Boston Catholic Directory.

The archive holds very few cemetery records but has facilitated the process of making the records of the Catholic Cemetery Association of the Archdiocese of Boston available online via AmericanAncestors.org, as well as those from some parish cemeteries.  For more information, including how to access these collections, please see the Digital Collections page.

Below is a list of the few volumes of cemetery records held by the archive.  These records, in addition to being available online, can also be accessed in the research library or by submitting a research request to archive staff.  To schedule a research appointment or submit a research request, please contact us using our online form.

Please note: While the Archive Department does its best to maintain and make accessible cemetery records from the Catholic Cemetery Association of the Archdiocese of Boston and parish cemeteries, it is not responsible for maintaining cemetery grounds.  For questions, comments or requests related to cemetery maintenance, please review the list in the Boston Catholic Directory and contact the appropriate office. 

Cemetery Records Maintained in the Archive Department

Boston (Roxbury).  Saint Joseph Cemetery. 
Burials, 1852-1868.
Lot sales, 1852-1868.

Boston (South).  Saint Augustine Cemetery. 
Burials, 1850-1859.
Lot sales, 1840-1859.
Copies of gravestones, 1819-1850.
List of graves copied from original records, undated.

Canton.  Saint Mary Cemetery. 
Burials, 1864-1891.
Lot sales, 1864-1891.

Danvers.  Saint Mary of the Annunciation Cemetery. 
Burials, 1868-1967.
Lot sales, 1868-1946.

Middleborough.  Saint Mary Cemetery. 
Lot sales and burials, 1891-1913, 1932.

Quincy.  Saint Mary Cemetery. 
Lot purchases, price, buyers, some burials, 1885-1920
 

To view a map, please click on the respective cemetery name below:

• Boston (Charlestown) – St. Francis de Sales 
• Andover - Sacred Heart 
• Arlington - St. Paul 
• Beverly - St. Mary 
• Cambridge - North Cambridge Catholic
• Framingham - St. George 
• Haverhill - St. James 
• Haverhill - St. Joseph 
• Lynn - St. Jean Baptiste 
• Lynn - St. Joseph 
• Lynn - St. Mary
• Malden - Holy Cross 
• Malden - Saint Mary 
• Marlborough - Immaculate Conception 
  • See also the adjacent cemetery Marlborough - St. Mary 
• Salem - Saint Mary
• Stoneham - Saint Patrick 
• Waltham - Calvary 
• Watertown - Catholic Mount Auburn 
• Watertown - Saint Patrick 
• Winchester - Calvary 

	Flag Pole		Section: Priests’ Burials
	Gate		Section: Religious Sisters’ Burials
	Mausoleum		Section: Special Section
	Monument		Statue
	Cemetery Office		Water Spigot

1788 - Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston.
1826 - Immaculate Conception, Salem.
1827 - Saint Patrick, Lowell.
1828 - Saint Mary, Boston (Charlestown).
1834 - Saint Mary, Boston (North End).
1836 - Saint Patrick, Boston (South End - Moved to Roxbury 1874).
1839 - Saint Mary, Waltham.
1841 - Saint Peter, Lowell.
1842 - Saint Mary, Quincy.
1842 - Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cambridge.
1843 - Saint Stephen, Boston (North End).
1844 - Saints Peter and Paul, Boston (South).
1844 - Holy Trinity, Boston (South End).
1844 - Most Holy Redeemer/Saint Nicholas Boston (East).
1845 - Saint Joseph, Boston (Roxbury).
1845 - Saint George, Framingham.
1846 - Saint Mary, Lawrence.
1847 - Saint Patrick, Watertown.
1848 - Immaculate Conception, Newburyport.
1848 - Saint Peter, Cambridge.
1848 - Saint Rose, Chelsea.
1850 - Saint James, Salem.
1850 - Saint James, Haverhill.
1851 - Saint Mary, Lynn.
1851 - Immaculate Conception, Lawrence.
1851 - Saint Mary, Randolph.
1852 - Saint Mary of the Assumption, Brookline.
1854 - Saint Francis Xavier, Weymouth.
1854 - Immaculate Conception, Malden.
1854 - Immaculate Conception, Marlboro.
1854 - Saint James the Greater, Boston.
1855 - Saint Ann, Gloucester.
1856 - Saint Patrick, Natick.
1856 - Saint Patrick, Brockton.
1858 - Saint Mary, Ayer.
1858 - Immaculate Conception, Boston (South End).
1859 - Saint Francis de Sales, Boston (Charlestown).
1859 - Saint Mary, Foxboro.
1859 - Our Lady Star of the Sea, Marblehead.
1861 - Saint John the Evangelist, Canton.
1862 - Saint Gregory, Boston (Dorchester).
1862 - Saint Charles, Woburn.
1862 - Saint Joseph, Boston (West End).
1863 - Saint Thomas Aquinas, Bridgewater.
1863 - Saint John the Baptist, Quincy.
1863 - Saint Bridget, Abington.
1864 - Saint Mary Star of the Sea, Boston (East).
1866 - Gate of Heaven, Boston (South).
1866 - Saint John the Evangelist, Hopkinton.
1866 - Saint Joseph, Amesbury.
1866 - Saint Augustine, Andover.
1866 - Saint Mary, Dedham.
1867 - Saint Bernard, Concord.
1867 - Saint Mary of the Annunciation, Cambridge.
1867 - Saint Francis de Sales, Boston (Roxbury).
1868 - Saint Augustine, Boston (South). 
1868 - Saint Patrick, Stoneham.
1868 - Saint Jean Baptiste/Saint Joseph, Lowell.
1868 - Immaculate Conception, Lowell.
1869 - Patronage of Saint Joseph, Somerville.
1869 - Our Lady of the Assumption, Boston (East).
1869 - Saint Thomas Aquinas, Boston (Jamaica Plain).
1869 - Our Lady of Perpetual Help [Mission Church], Boston (Roxbury).
1870 - Saint Joachim, Rockport.
1870 - Most Precious Blood, Boston (Hyde Park).
1870 - Saint Mary, Holliston.
1870 - Saint Michael, Hudson.
1870 - Saint Mary, Marlboro.
1870 - Saint Mary Star of the Sea, Beverly.
1871 - Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, Newton.
1871 - Saint Bridget, Maynard.
1871 - Saint Anne, Lawrence.
1871 - Saint Columbkille, Boston (Brighton).
1871 - Sacred Heart, Weymouth.
1872 - Saint Patrick, Lawrence.
1872 - Saint Patrick, Boston (Roxbury).
1872 - Saint Peter, Boston (Dorchester).
1872 - Saint Agnes, Arlington.
1872 - Blessed Sacrament, Walpole.
1872 - Immaculate Conception, Stoughton.
1873 - Saint Joseph, Haverhill.
1873 - Saint Joseph, Salem.
1873 - Saint Leonard of Port Maurice, Boston (North End).
1873 - Sacred Heart, Boston (East).
1874 - Saint Mary, Georgetown.
1874 - Saint Joseph, Lynn.
1874 - Saint John the Baptist, Peabody.
1875 - Saint Mary, Winchester.
1875 - Saint Paul, Cambridge.
1876 - Saint Paul, Hingham.
1876 - Saint Bernard, Newton.
1876 - Saint Peter, Plymouth.
1877 - Saint Mary, Franklin.
1878 - Saint Bridget, Framingham.
1879 - Our Lady Help of Christians, Newton.
1880 - Our Lady of Victories, Boston.
1881 - Saint Ann, Somerville.
1882 - Immaculate Conception, Weymouth.
1883 - Holy Family, Rockland.
1883 - Saint Joseph, Medford.
1884 - Saint Michael, Lowell.
1884 - Saint Stephen, Framingham.
1884 - Sacred Heart, Lowell.
1885 - Sacred Heart, Middleborough.
1885 - Saint Joseph, Pepperell.
1885 - Saint Joseph, Medway.
1886 - Saint Bridget, Lexington.
1886 - Saint Jean Baptiste, Lynn.
1886 - Saint Anthony, Cohasset.
1887 - Saint Catherine of Siena, Boston (Charlestown).
1887 - Saint Joseph, Holbrook.
1887 - Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Lawrence.
1888 - Sacred Heart, Boston (North End).
1888 - Saint Cecilia, Boston (Back Bay).
1889 - Immaculate Conception, Revere.
1889 - Saint Zepherin, Wayland.
1889 - Saint Joseph, Ipswich.
1890 - Our Lady of Good Voyage, Gloucester.
1890 - Sacred Heart, Natick.
1890 - Sacred Hearts, Malden.
1890 - Sacred Heart, Newton.
1890 - Saint Catherine of Siena, Norwood.
1890 - Saint John the Evangelist, Wellesley.
1891 – Nativity, Merrimac.
1891 - Saint Catherine of Genoa, Somerville.
1891 - Sacred Heart, Brockton.
1891 - Blessed Sacrament, Boston (Jamaica Plain).
1892 - Saint Lazarus, Boston (East).
1892 - Saint Edward, Medfield.
1892 - Saint John the Evangelist, Cambridge.
1893 - Sacred Heart, Watertown.
1893 - Saint John the Evangelist, Chelmsford.
1893 - Saint Margaret, Boston (Dorchester).
1893 - Our Lady of Cedars, Boston (Jamaica Plain).
1893 - Sacred Heart, Boston (Roslindale).
1893 - Our Lady of Czestochowa, Boston (South).
1894 - All Saints, Boston (Roxbury).
1894 - Sacred Heart, Lynn.
1894 - Saint Mary of the Annunciation, Melrose.
1894 - Saint Joseph, Waltham.
1895 - Notre Dame de Pitie, Cambridge.
1895 - Saint Philip, Boston (Roxbury).
1895 - Saint Theresa, Boston (West Roxbury).
1896 - Sacred Heart, Watertown.
1896 - Saint Anthony, Boston (Allston).
1897 - Saint Lawrence, Brookline.
1897 - Holy Ghost, Whitman.
1897 - Saint Edward, Brockton.
1898 - Saint Laurence O'Toole, Lawrence.
1900 - Saint Casimir, Brockton.


 

Boston
1788 - Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
1854 - Saint James the Greater.
1880 - Our Lady of Victories.
1888 - Saint Cecilia (Back Bay).
1834 - Saint Mary (North End).
1843 - Saint Stephen (North End).
1873 - Saint Leonard of Port Maurice (North End).
1888 - Sacred Heart (North End).
1836 - Saint Patrick (South End - Moved to Roxbury 1874).
1844 - Holy Trinity (South End).
1858 - Immaculate Conception (South End).
1862 - Saint Joseph (West End).
Boston (Allston)
1896 - Saint Anthony
Boston (Brighton)
1871 - Saint Columbkille
Boston (Charlestown)
1828 - Saint Mary
1887 - Saint Catherine of Siena
1859 - Saint Francis de Sales
Boston (Dorchester)
1862 - Saint Gregory
1872 - Saint Peter
1893 - Saint Margaret
Boston (East)
1844 - Most Holy Redeemer/Saint Nicholas
1864 - Saint Mary Star of the Sea
1869 - Our Lady of the Assumption
1873 - Sacred Heart
1892 - Saint Lazarus
Boston (Hyde Park)
1870 - Most Precious Blood
Boston (Jamaica Plain)
1869 - Saint Thomas Aquinas
1891 - Blessed Sacrament
1893 - Our Lady of Cedars
Boston (Roxbury)
1845 - Saint Joseph
1867 - Saint Francis de Sales
1869 - Our Lady of Perpetual Help [Mission Church]
1872 - Saint Patrick
1894 - All Saints
1895 - Saint Philip
Boston (Roslindale)
1893 - Sacred Heart
Boston (South)
1844 - Saints Peter and Paul
1866 - Gate of Heaven
1868 - Saint Augustine
1893 - Our Lady of Czestochowa
Boston (West Roxbury)
1895 - Saint Theresa West Roxbury
Cities/Towns (A-Z)
1863 - Saint Bridget, Abington.
1866 - Saint Joseph, Amesbury.
1866 - Saint Augustine, Andover.
1872 - Saint Agnes, Arlington.
1858 - Saint Mary, Ayer.
1870 - Saint Mary Star of the Sea, Beverly.
1863 - Saint Thomas Aquinas, Bridgewater.
1856 - Saint Patrick, Brockton.
1891 - Sacred Heart, Brockton.
1897 - Saint Edward, Brockton.
1900 - Saint Casimir, Brockton.
1852 - Saint Mary of the Assumption, Brookline.
1897 - Saint Lawrence, Brookline.
1842 - Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cambridge.
1848 - Saint Peter, Cambridge.
1867 - Saint Mary of the Annunciation, Cambridge.
1875 - Saint Paul, Cambridge.
1892 - Saint John the Evangelist, Cambridge.
1895 - Notre Dame de Pitie, Cambridge.
1861 - Saint John the Evangelist, Canton.
1893 - Saint John the Evangelist, Chelmsford.
1848 - Saint Rose, Chelsea.
1886 - Saint Anthony, Cohasset.
1867 - Saint Bernard, Concord.
1866 - Saint Mary, Dedham.
1859 - Saint Mary, Foxboro.
1845 - Saint George, Framingham.
1878 - Saint Bridget, Framingham.
1884 - Saint Stephen, Framingham.
1877 - Saint Mary, Franklin.
1874 - Saint Mary, Georgetown.
1855 - Saint Ann, Gloucester.
1890 - Our Lady of Good Voyage, Gloucester.
1850 - Saint James, Haverhill.
1873 - Saint Joseph, Haverhill.
1876 - Saint Paul, Hingham.
1887 - Saint Joseph, Holbrook.
1870 - Saint Mary, Holliston.
1866 - Saint John the Evangelist, Hopkinton.
1870 - Saint Michael, Hudson.
1889 - Saint Joseph, Ipswich.
1846 - Saint Mary, Lawrence.
1851 - Immaculate Conception, Lawrence.
1871 - Saint Anne, Lawrence.
1872 - Saint Patrick, Lawrence.
1887 - Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Lawrence.
1898 - Saint Laurence O'Toole, Lawrence.
1886 - Saint Bridget, Lexington.
1827 - Saint Patrick, Lowell.
1841 - Saint Peter, Lowell.
1868 - Immaculate Conception, Lowell.
1868 - Saint Jean Baptiste/Saint Joseph, Lowell.
1884 - Sacred Heart, Lowell.
1884 - Saint Michael, Lowell.
1851 - Saint Mary, Lynn.
1874 - Saint Joseph, Lynn.
1886 - Saint Jean Baptiste, Lynn.
1894 - Sacred Heart, Lynn.
1854 - Immaculate Conception, Malden.
1890 - Sacred Hearts, Malden.
1859 - Our Lady Star of the Sea, Marblehead.
1854 - Immaculate Conception, Marlboro.
1870 - Saint Mary, Marlboro.
1871 - Saint Bridget, Maynard.
1892 - Saint Edward, Medfield.
1883 - Saint Joseph, Medford.
1885 - Saint Joseph, Medway.
1894 - Saint Mary of the Annunciation, Melrose.
1891 – Nativity, Merrimac.
1885 - Sacred Heart, Middleborough.
1856 - Saint Patrick, Natick.
1890 - Sacred Heart, Natick.
1848 - Immaculate Conception, Newburyport.
1871 - Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, Newton.
1876 - Saint Bernard, Newton.
1879 - Our Lady Help of Christians, Newton.
1890 - Sacred Heart, Newton.
1890 - Saint Catherine of Siena, Norwood.
1874 - Saint John the Baptist, Peabody.
1885 - Saint Joseph, Pepperell.
1876 - Saint Peter, Plymouth.
1842 - Saint Mary, Quincy.
1863 - Saint John the Baptist, Quincy.
1851 - Saint Mary, Randolph.
1889 - Immaculate Conception, Revere.
1883 - Holy Family, Rockland.
1870 - Saint Joachim, Rockport.
1826 - Immaculate Conception, Salem.
1850 - Saint James, Salem.
1873 - Saint Joseph, Salem.
1869 - Patronage of Saint Joseph, Somerville.
1881 - Saint Ann, Somerville.
1891 - Saint Catherine of Genoa, Somerville.
1868 - Saint Patrick, Stoneham.
1872 - Immaculate Conception, Stoughton.
1872 - Blessed Sacrament, Walpole.
1894 - Saint Joseph, Waltham.
1839 - Saint Mary, Waltham.
1847 - Saint Patrick, Watertown.
1893 - Sacred Heart, Watertown.
1896 - Sacred Heart, Watertown.
1889 - Saint Zepherin, Wayland.
1890 - Saint John the Evangelist, Wellesley.
1854 - Saint Francis Xavier, Weymouth.
1871 - Sacred Heart, Weymouth.
1882 - Immaculate Conception, Weymouth.
1897 - Holy Ghost, Whitman.
1875 - Saint Mary, Winchester.
1862 - Saint Charles, Woburn.