Dab solver - Parish (Catholic Church)

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In American usage, a "parish priest" is any priest assigned to a parish even in a subordinate capacity, and some may be designated as associate pastors or assistant pastors. Globally they may be known as assistant priests,^ref parochial vicars^ref or [[curate#Catholic Church|curates]].

=== Other personnel ===

In addition to the parish priest and any assistant priests he may have, a parish commonly has a staff of [[Laity|lay people]] ([[...|vestry]]), [[Religious (Catholicism)|]], and [[ordained]] [[deacon]]s. For example, a parish secretary may assist in administrative matters, a parish sister in activities such as visiting the sick, and a perhaps married permanent [[deacon]] in sacramental as well as pastoral or administrative duties.

A parish is obliged to have a finance committee^ref and, if the bishop considers it opportune, a [[Pastoral Council|pastoral council]] or . The role of the pastoral council is only consultative.^ref

== Parish life ==

In addition to a parish church, each parish may maintain auxiliary organizations and their facilities such as a [[rectory]], [[church hall|parish hall]], [[parochial school]], or [[convent]], frequently located on the same campus or adjacent to the church.

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In the [[Roman Catholic (term)|Roman]] [[Catholic Church]], a '''parish''' (Latin: ''parochus'') is a stable community of the faithful within a [[Particular Church]], whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a [[pastor#Catholicism|parish priest]] (Latin: ''pastor''), under the authority of the diocesan [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|bishop]]. It is the lowest ecclesiastical subdivision in the Catholic [[episcopal polity]], and the primary constituent unit of a [[diocese]]. In the [[1983 Code of Canon Law]], parishes are constituted under cc. 515–552, entitled "Parishes, Pastors, and Parochial Vicars."

==Types==
Most parishes are ''territorial parishes'', which comprise all Catholics living within a defined geographic area. A parish may be joined with others in a [[deanery]] or ''vicariate forane'' and overseen by a ''vicar forane'', also known as a ''dean'' or ''[[archpriest]]''.

Per canon 518, a bishop may also erect non-territorial parishes, or ''personal parishes'', within his [[episcopal see|see]].<ref name="canon518">{{citation|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P1U.HTM#2.2.2.3.6.0.518|title=canon 518|work=Code of Canon Law}}</ref> Personal parishes are created to better serve Catholics of a particular rite, language, nationality, or other commonality which make them a distinct community. Such parishes include the following:

* [[National parish]]es, established to serve the faithful of a certain ethnic group or national origin, offering services and activities in their native language.<ref name="commentary">{{citation|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=JKgZEjvB5cEC&lpg=PA689&ots=GJ7HLKEx5f&pg=PA689#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law|author=John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, Thomas Joseph Green|year=2000|publisher=Paulist Press}}</ref>
* Parishes established to serve university students.<ref name="commentary" />
* Parishes established by the 7 July 2007 ''motu proprio'' Apostolic Letter ''[[Summorum Pontificum]]'' for those attached to the [[Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite|Extraordinary form]] of the [[Roman Rite]] (i.e. the traditional Latin Mass).<ref name="sp">{{citation|url=http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/summorum-pontificum.html|work=Summorum Pontificum|title=Article 10}}</ref>
* [[Anglican Use]] parishes established by the [[Pastoral Provision]] or other dispensations for former members of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church in the United States]]. By nature, communities belonging to the [[personal ordinariate]]s for Anglicans as established by ''Anglicanorum Coetibus'' of 4 November 2009 are also personal parishes.

All Catholics who reside in a territorial parish are considered members of that territorial parish, and all members of a community for which a personal parish has been erected are similarly members of that personal parish. Membership should not be confused with registration or worship, however. Catholics are not obliged to worship only in the parish church to which they belong, but may for convenience or taste attend services in any Catholic church.<ref name="canon1248">{{citation|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P4L.HTM|work=1983 Code of Canon Law|title=canon 1248 §1}}</ref>

==Personnel==
Each parish is charged to a parish priest, although pastoral care of one or more parishes can also be entrusted to a [[team of priests in solidum|team of priests ''in solidum'']] under the direction of one of them, who is to be answerable to the bishop for their activity.<ref name="canon5171">{{citation|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM|work=1983 Code of Canon Law|title=canon 517 §1}}</ref> In extraordinary situations, a share in the pastoral care of a parish can also be entrusted to a deacon or lay person under the supervision of a priest.<ref name="canon5172">{{citation|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM|work=1983 Code of Canon Law|title=canon 517 §2}}</ref>

: The parish priest is the proper clergyman in charge of the congregation of the parish entrusted to him. He exercises the pastoral care of the community entrusted to him under the authority of the [[diocesan bishop]], whose ministry of Christ he is called to share, so that for this community he may carry out the offices of teaching, sanctifying and ruling with the cooperation of other priests or deacons and with the assistance of lay members of Christ's faithful, in accordance with the law".<ref name="canon519">{{citation|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM|work=1983 Code of Canon Law|title=canon 519}}</ref>

In American usage, a "parish priest" is any priest assigned to a parish even in a subordinate capacity, and some may be designated as ''associate pastors'' or ''assistant pastors''. Globally they may be known as ''assistant priests'',<ref name="canon545">{{citation|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM|work=1983 Code of Canon Law|title=canon 545}}</ref> ''parochial vicars''<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P1U.HTM|work=1983 Code of Canon Law|title=canon 545}}</ref> or ''[[curate#Catholic Church|curates]]''.

===Other personnel===
In addition to the parish priest and any assistant priests he may have, a parish commonly has a staff of [[Laity|lay people]] ([[Vestry#Administrative_vestry|vestry]]), [[Religious (Catholicism)|religious]], and [[ordained]] [[deacon]]s. For example, a parish secretary may assist in administrative matters, a parish sister in activities such as visiting the sick, and a perhaps married permanent [[deacon]] in sacramental as well as pastoral or administrative duties.

A parish is obliged to have a finance committee<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM|work=1983 Code of Canon Law|title=canon 537}}</ref> and, if the bishop considers it opportune, a [[Pastoral Council|pastoral council]] or <<link:0>>. The role of the pastoral council is only consultative.<ref name="canon536">{{citation|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM|work=1893 Code of Canon Law|title=canon 536}}</ref>

==Parish life==

In addition to a parish church, each parish may maintain auxiliary organizations and their facilities such as a [[rectory]], [[church hall|parish hall]], [[parochial school]], or [[convent]], frequently located on the same campus or adjacent to the church.

===Parish church===
{{main|Parish church}}
Each parish has a single seat of worship, the [[parish church]]. Geography, overcrowding, or other circumstances may induce the parish to establish alternative worship centers, however, which may not have a full-time parish priest.

The parish church is the center of most Catholics' spiritual life, since it is there that they receive the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacraments]]. On Sundays and according to pastoral need daily, [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] is normally celebrated by a [[priest (Catholic Church)|priest]] resident in the parish. [[Confession (religion)|confession]] is made available, as various forms of joint prayer. Where numbers of priests fall, there tend to be fewer priest-led, and more [[laity]]-led activities. These include social events in accordance with local culture and circumstances.

===Parochial school===
{{main|Catholic school}}
Many parishes in different parts of the world operate schools for the children of the parish, though their organization, staffing, and funding varies widely according to local practice. Many parishes are not affiliated with schools, and many Catholic schools are not affiliated with parishes. In addition to the standard curriculum, students at parochial schools are given moral and religious education in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

==Formation==
A parish has two constitutive elements: a body of Catholics and a named [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|parish priest]] (called the [[pastor#Catholic Church|pastor]] in the United States) with responsibility for them. The parish is a "juridic person" under canon law, and thus recognized as a unit with certain rights and responsibilities.<ref name="canon515">{{citation|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P1U.HTM#2.2.2.3.6.0.515|title=canon 515 §1|work=[[1983 Code of Canon Law]]}}</ref> It is not autonomous, however. The diocesan bishop has the sole power to erect, suppress, or alter parishes, though he is to consult first with his [[Presbyteral Council]].

''[[Ecclesiae Sanctae]]'', a 1966 [[Apostolic Letter]] of [[Pope Paul VI]] issued ''[[motu proprio]]'', directs that

: parishes in which apostolic activity can be performed only with difficulty or less effectively because of the excessive number of the faithful or too vast a territory or for any other reason, be suitably divided or dismembered according to the various circumstances. Likewise parishes which are too small should be united insofar as the situation demands it and circumstances permit.<ref name="es">{{citation|url=http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19660806_ecclesiae-sanctae_en.html|author=Pope Paul VI|title=21. Establishment, Suppression and Change of Parishes|work=An Apostolic Letter Issued "motu Proprio," Ecclesiae Sanctae|year=1966}}</ref>

Where a parish priest has been named to pastor a defined community, but circumstances do not permit it to be formally erected as a parish, the congregation is recognized as a ''quasi-parish''.<ref name="canon516">{{citation|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P1U.HTM#2.2.2.3.7.0.515|title=canon 516|work=1983 Code of Canon Law}}</ref> Quasi-parishes include immature communities, such as mission churches or communities forming at secondary worship sites.<ref name="quasinote">Note that in the ''[[1917 Code of Canon Law]]'', the definition of quasi-parish differs. Quasi-parishes existed only as divisions of [[apostolic vicariate]]s or [[apostolic prefecture]]s, and were led by quasi-pastors. In the 1983 code, quasi-parishes are led by pastors and can exist anywhere.</ref>

==Naming==
Canon law provides no formal guidelines for choosing a name for a parish or quasi-parish; however, the [[Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments]] issued guidelines in 1999 that it may commonly be the same as the name of the parish church.<ref name="ca">
{{citation|url=http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/when-parishes-merge-or-close|author=Michael Trueman and Pete Vere|title=When Parishes Merge or Close|work=[[Catholic Answers]]|date=July 2007|volume=18|number=6}}</ref> In turn, the Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar<ref name="rdca">{{citation|url=http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Rites/RDCA.pdf|title=Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar|author=Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, translated by International Committee on English in the Liturgy|year=1978}}</ref> stipulates that this name must be

* the name of the [[Holy Trinity]]
* a name for [[Christ]], invoked in the liturgy, or a mystery of his life
* the name of the [[Holy Spirit]]
* a name for the [[Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)|Blessed Virgin Mary]], invoked under a title for her used in the liturgy
* the name of a holy [[angel]]
* the name of a [[canonization|canonized]] saint, as it appears in the [[Roman Martyrology]] (or appendix)
* the name of a [[beatification|blessed]], but only with the permission of the [[Holy See]]

If two or more parishes are merged, the churches of each parish retain their names, but the parish itself may adopt a different name for pastoral reasons.

==Merger and suppression==
{{main|Suppression (parish)}}
Bishops may close parishes through two legal mechanisms under canon law. Under ''suppression'', the identity of one parish is abolished, and its former congregants are joined to one or more extant parishes and take on their identity. In a ''merger'', the identity of two or more parishes are abolished, and their former congregants organized into a new parish, and take on its identity. Because a parish is a community of people and not simply a legal entity, canonical suppression is in practice a form of merger, as [[Dario Castrillón Hoyos]] of the [[Congregation for the Clergy]] notes in a 2006 letter to Bishop [[William S. Skylstad]], president of the [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]]:

: [O]nly with great difficulty can one say that a parish becomes extinct. A parish is extinguished by the law itself only if no Catholic community any longer exists in its territory, or if no pastoral activity has taken place for a hundred years (can. 120 #1). When a parish is "suppressed" by competent authority, in reality, the still existing community of Christ's faithful is actually "merged" into the neighboring community of Christ's faithful and constitutes a larger community, and the territory of the extinguished parish is added to the other, forming a larger territorial unit.<ref name="skylstad">{{citation|title=Letter from the Congregation for the Clergy to Bishop Skylstad, president of the USCCB, Prot. Num., 20060481|date=July 2006}}</ref>

Parishes are typically suppressed or merged when they become unsustainable due to a decline in the local Catholic population. For example, given the ongoing [[priest shortage in the Roman Catholic Church|priest shortage]], a bishop may wish to reallocate clergy serving a small parish so that they can help serve a larger one, or a decline in contributions may make upkeep of a large, old parish church economically impossible. The merger or suppression of a parish does not necessarily require that its parish church or other operations be closed, however. The former parish church may be retained as an alternative worship space, for example, or converted for other pastoral use.

===Opposition to suppressions===
Controversy has arisen in the United States over the suppression of parishes, and over the disposition of parochial assets and liabilities following such a change.

Some bishops have interpreted suppression as equivalent to the extinction of a parish under canon 123<ref name="canon123">{{citation|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__PD.HTM|title=canon 123|work=1983 Code of Canon Law}}</ref> (as due to war or disaster), in which case the assets and liabilities of the former parish revert to the diocese. In most cases, however, the local Catholic population was stable, and could not be said to be extinct, and so they should have been distributed to the successor parishes, as the Congregation for the Clergy emphasized in 2006 letter to the USCCB.<ref name="assets">{{citation|url=http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=20738|title=Vatican: Suppressed parish’s assets must go to receiving church, not diocese|publisher=Catholic News Service|last=Filteau|first=Jerry|date=1 August 2006|work=Catholic Online}}</ref>

In other cases, parishioners have objected to the closing of churches, sending appeals to the Vatican and staging [[sit-in]] protests at churches in [[Boston]], [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], and [[Worcester, Massachusetts]]; [[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]] and [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]]; and [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] and [[Buffalo, New York]]. In 2010 the Supreme Tribunal [[Apostolic Signatura]], the highest court within the Catholic Church, overruled bishops, ruling that the closing of churches in Springfield, Allentown and Buffalo was unnecessary and thus not permitted under [http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4H.HTM canon 1222].<ref name="osv">{{citation|url=http://www.osv.com/tabid/7621/itemid/7783/Vatican-intervenes-in-US-parish-closings.aspx|title=Vatican intervenes in U.S. parish closings|date=24 April 2011|work=[[Our Sunday Visitor]]|last=Shaw|first=Russell}}</ref>

==Statistics==
The number of parishioners varies widely from parish to parish, even within the same diocese, reflecting local demographics and worship practices. The "ideal" size parish is a subject of debate.<ref name="ncrparishsize">{{citation|url=http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/church-size-in-flux/|date=22 August 2011|title=Church Size in Flux|work=[[National Catholic Register]]|last=Desmond|first=Joan Frawley}}</ref>

The number of parishes, similarly, varies widely from diocese to diocese. Some statistics on the total number of parishes in different countries are maintained by their respective [[Episcopal Conference]]:

* [[Italy]] - 25,694; 26,000 (2006)<ref name="cei">{{citation|url=http://www.8xmille.it/ipovedenti/p.htm|title=Otto per mille|author=[[Conferenza Episcopale Italiana]]}}</ref>
* [[Poland]] - 10,421; 10,162 (2006)<ref>Spis 2006 pod redakcją naukową ks. Witolda Zdaniewicza SAC, ks. Sławomira Zaręby i Roberta Stępisiewicza</ref>
* [[United States]] - 19,081; 19,000 (2008)<ref>{{citation|first=David|last=Gibson|title=Declaration of interdependence|work=[[The Tablet]]|date=4 July 2009|pages=8–9}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Personal prelature]]
*[[Titular church]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|3}}

[[Category:Roman Catholic Church organisation]]
[[Category:Canon law (Catholic Church)]]
[[Category:Church parishes]]

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