Parish records transfer to seated parish for merging faith communities

With the closing and merging of many churches in the Archdiocese of Baltimore before the beginning of this year as part of the Seek the City to Come pastoral planning initiative, more than just parishioners were moved to a new location.

All the records kept at the closed churches, including sacramental records, tax statements, school records and any other saved documents were transferred to the seated parish.

“We make sure these records are secure,” said Dr. Diane Barr, chancellor for the archdiocese. “We value these records.”

Barr noted that each parish is responsible for retaining its own records.

“[Sacramental} records are not centrally kept,” she said. “They are kept at the location where the sacrament occurred. It doesn’t matter where you prepared; it is where you actually received the sacrament.”

If the church where the sacrament was received closed, the seated parish now holds those records, she said. The same is true for any other records a closed parish had.

“Parishes over the years develop records unique to them,” Barr said, noting that that can include records of clubs and the retention of photographs. 

Older, historic records are kept at the Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park.

When looking for recent records, “at the new parish, work with the folks to sort things out,” Barr said. “If you want something old, over 100 years, go to the archives.”

For parishioners who need a tax statement for donations to a closed parish, the seated parish is responsible for providing them, according to Kim Montgomery, chief advancement officer for the archdiocese.

“Five or six parishes, that is going to be a lot of work for the office,” said Montgomery, suggesting patience may be needed and noting that the archdiocese is working with parishes and providing support.

“At the end of the year, we get so many phone calls,” Montgomery said.

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