Sacramental Records
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Requesting a Current Certificate
Sacramental registers are retained at the parish in which the sacrament was celebrated. Current certificates are issued only to the individual requesting his / her record or to a person who has a legitimate reason for requesting a family record (such as the parent of a minor child or an immediate relative if the individual is deceased). Requests made by government or corporate agencies (e.g. Social Security Administration, immigration, insurance companies, etc.) or anyone other than those named above must be accompanied by a signed release by the person whose record is requested or by a legally qualified guardian, authorizing the release of the information. Download a copy of the Authorization For Release of Information.
Request Policy: Requests must be made in writing and accompanied by a copy of a photo ID. -
Where to Find Records
Individuals in search of a sacramental record from an active parish can obtain their record directly from the parish (use the Parish Finder for contact information).
Individuals in search of a sacramental record from a parish that is now closed can obtain it from the parish into which the closed parish was consolidated. The locations of the recently closed parishes are listed below.
St. Bernard Academy, Grand ForksLocation of Sacramental Records of Closed Parishes
For the parish contact information, click on the name of the parish or use the Parish Locator (which includes the location of the parish on a map).
Closed Parish Location of Records Alice, St. Henry St. Patrick, Enderlin Ardoch, St. John the Baptist Sacred Heart, Minto Bathgate, St. Anthony Cavalier, Neche and Walhalla Bremen, St. Joseph New Rockford and Carrington Brocket, St. Joseph St. Mary, Lakota Burnstad, St. Clare St. Philip. Napoleon Cogswell, Our Lady of Mercy St. Mary, Forman Conway, St. Mark Pisek, Park River and Larimore Courtney, St. Mary St. Boniface, Wimbledon Crary (rural Rutten), St. Benedict St. Joseph, Devils Lake Fried, Sacred Heart St. James, Jamestown Fulda, St. Anselm St. Therese, Rugby Gackle, St. Ann St. James, Jamestown Granville, Our Lady of Perpetual Help St. Cecilia, Towner Hansboro, Sacred Heart Immaculate Heart, Rock Lake Hurdsfield, St. Patrick Sykeston, Harvey, Carrington Kintyre, St. Boniface St. Philip, Napoleon Lake Williams, Our Lady of the Lake St. Francis de Sales, Steele Leroy, St. Joseph St. Boniface, Walhalla (Rural) Logan County, St. Anthony St. Philip, Napoleon (Rural) Logan County, St. Boniface St. Philip, Napoleon Lomice, St. Catherine St. Mary, Lakota Marion, St. Francis Holy Rosary, LaMoure (Rural) McIntosh County,
St. John the BaptistSt. Andrew, Zeeland Milton, St. Clotilde Park River, Langdon Minnewaukan, St. James Devils Lake, Carrington Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel St. Alphonsus, Langdon Olga, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart St. Boniface, Walhalla Oriska, St. Bernard St. Catherine, Valley City Orrin, Sacred Heart St. Therese, Rugby Osnabrock, St. Joseph Park River, Langdon Page, St. James St. Catherine, Valley City Pingree, St. Michael St. James, Jamestown St. Thomas, St. Thomas St. John the Evangelist, Grafton Wales, St. Michael St. Alphonsus, Langdon Request from the Diocesan Archive
There are a few exceptions where the diocesan archive, as the “repository of last resort”, has custody of the registers of a closed or merged parish. There is a nominal charge for each record (see Fees and Donations above).
A request can be made by contacting the Diocesan Archivist or his assistant (contact information is listed below).
Complete the Archive Sacramental Record Request Form above.- submit the request via email
- submit the request in writing by mail to: Diocesan Archivist 5201 Bishops Blvd S, Fargo, ND 58104
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Diocesan Archivist
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Tamara Krogmantamara.krogmanfargodiocese.orgAdministrative Assistant to Chancellor and Liturgy
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Requesting Certificates for Genealogical Purposes
The information contained in parish sacramental registers can be a valuable source of information to genealogists. As indicated in the Sacramental Policy of the Diocese of Fargo, broader access is allowed to older records than more recent ones. At present, the cutoff date for greater access of sacramental records is the year 1930. The archives contains a microfilm copy of the sacramental records of all parishes in the diocese and provides information from the microfilm through 1930.
NOTE: One may request a copy of a certificate for sacraments administered before 1931 for the normal certificate fee using the Sacramental Record Request Form via e-mail and in writing (see instructions above).
The archive staff is willing to lend their expertise in locating sacramental records to a parish staff and to the general public.
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