There can be a lot of confusion researching the records of a Catholic church. Sometimes they close down, other times they merge into another parish. I would like to pass along some information I received from Patrick McNamara, Assistant Archivist of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, regarding the location of sacramental records: If the parish you are interested in is still in existence, all sacramental records will be housed there. If the parish has merged with another, all sacramental records will be housed at the merged parish. If the parish has closed and did *not* merge with another parish, all sacramental records will be housed at the Chancery. Sacramental records are *never* destroyed. Mr. McNamara states: "Canon law requires that they be kept 'unto perpetuity,' i.e., forever." Mr. McNamara also stated that the diocese hopes to have parish boundary maps online sometime in the future. You can learn more about the holding of the Archives of the Brooklyn Diocese by visiting their website: http://www.dioceseofbrooklyn.org/about/archive/abt_arch_archives.html Guidelines for requesting sacramental records and determing parishes can be found at: http://www.dioceseofbrooklyn.org/about/archive/abt_arch_using.html You can contact the Archives staff by email off the website. They are very friendly and helpful. They're happy to answer any questions you may have or help with any problems you may encounter. They'll even tell you what parish your ancestor belonged to if you can supply them with an address! Hope this helps. Take care, Tracy