Letter to Mother Church

[darkerhorse]

I want to contact a mother church in Sicily to ask whether they have any records available.

I'm interested in death records for 1897 and 1899, and in any records dating before 1820 - baptism, marriage, death, etc.

I believe the church was damaged by an earthquake in the past, and records might have been destroyed.

I'd just like to know what's available.

Is there a template or example of such letter in the Italian language?

[arturo.c]

I don't understand what you mean with "mother church".
If you refer to a church of a denomination other than Catholic, you should contact the relevant authorities of the same church itself. Usually when a place of worship is damaged and/or otherwise disabled, the records are moved to a safer place.

If the church you are referring to is a Catholic one, the old records are usually kept in the historical archives of the diocese to which it belongs, and copies or extracts could be obtained on demand.

[Italysearcher]

Just because its called Chiesa Madre doesn't mean it has the documents from other churches in town. Each has their own, OR the Diocese has them. Not all Diocese have an inventory of records at the local churches or even of the ones they have in the Diocese!