As a Catholic, how important was it for you to find a house with a Church nearby?

  • Thread starter Thread starter De_Maria
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I’m not an Eastern Catholic, but I always want to live somewhat near an Eastern Catholic church, so I totally get that.
 
I would also consider an eastern rite parish if the job offers are too good to pass up. I love the Divine Liturgy, I just feel more at home in a TLM parish.
 
These are my criteria as well. When I moved to California it took me almost 10 years to find a church where I felt at home, and I promised myself I will never again move first and find a church later. First I find a church, then I move to that area.
 
I never had to think about it because every neighborhood I ever thought about living in had at least 1 Catholic Church within 2 miles or less (usually less).

The type of Catholic Church does figure into my decision though. One city where I was anxious to move out had the Catholic Church in a big empty space in a building also housing various other faiths called an “interfaith center”. I made sure to buy a house in a different city close to a standalone Catholic Church.
 
Last edited:
You should see how far my Priests drive every Sunday to celebrate Masses. Rural living
 
When we first married my husband and I moved to a small town because the house was affordable. It was a good distance from the nearest Catholic church but he had a good job and I could work too, so I didn’t think the distance would be a problem. Then he became disabled and I had to work. I often had to work during all weekend Mass times (couldn’t keep my job otherwise!). Now neither my husband nor I can work, and we can’t afford the gas to get to church. There are too few Catholics in town to get a ride.

Maybe I could have done things differently but I don’t know how. It does make me wonder if it’s really God’s will for everyone to be Catholic.
 
Buying a house near the Catholic church and school was the absolute top priority for me. 10-15 years ago I wouldn’t have felt the same…the attributes of the house were my top priority. Now I have changed my thinking. Being able to walk out of my front door and into church just a few minutes later is great and I wouldn’t want it any other way; this nearness also makes volunteering at school or church a snap. I’ve been looking around my neighborhood recently at other houses within a block or two of church that would comfortably hold my family plus my mother if she should choose to live with us later on if need be.
 
Being near to church was one reason why we moved as a family from our Reformed Baptist church to an Anglican one fifteen minutes walk away. This has been a great blessing to us, enabling my children to keep connected to Christianity and giving my husband and me opportunities to serve in various ministries, the Foodbank in my case. I don’t drive so am limited in where I can get to by the bus.

And so it is with the Catholic church. I realize I am very, very lucky to have a well served parish church on the local bus route so I can get there without much planning or having to rely on my husband who has other commitments when I often want to go. But it is only ten minutes drive away for the times when he can drive me.

I wouldn’t necessarily choose a house based on the proximity of a Catholic church, but I would certainly do some research into how to get to one as we decided where to live.
 
There’s no need to search. Every town and municipality has a Catholic Church. It’s like 4 miles from the house. My point is, I was not worried about it. Even if the church had been miles and miles away, nothing prevents me from going to Mass and Adoration or whatever else I need to do.

ETA:
I have never understood (and likely never will) the need to “search for a church” or “find a parish that suits me”.
We’re Catholic. They all suit.
The personality of the priest or the other people is the least of my worries.
Is there Mass? That’s it.
 
Last edited:
It wasn’t. In the suburbs in France, finding a Catholic church close enough to walk to generally isn’t a challenge. It’s a different story in the rural areas, though.

We prioritized a quiet, safe neighborhood and proximity to light rail public transportation over distance to the church. Safety was the most important consideration because it wouldn’t matter how close any destination was—church, supermarket, tram stop, etc.—if we were too scared to walk to it. Public transportation was important because (1) at the time we moved where we live now, I didn’t drive, and (2) neither of us like driving (or parking 😡) in the city.

In case it makes a difference, we are tenants and not homeowners, and I’m the only Catholic in the home (The Husband is a non-practicing Protestant).
 
Last edited:
I quite agree. I know there is some controversy about various things, but one of the things I appreciate about the Catholic church is that ‘church shopping’ isn’t really necessary. The Mass is the Mass is the Mass.
 
pianistclare said:
I have never understood (and likely never will) the need to “search for a church” or “find a parish that suits me
Click to expand...
I agree with that at least to an extent. The Mass is the Mass whichever Catholic Church you are in. However, I think having an active parish and a faith community that you click with does enhance your spiritual life. Certainly where I am priests are not transferred so you should not pick a parish based on the priest.

For me I would need to be within walking distance of a Church. I don’t drive and even if I did walking would be more convenient. I am lucky to live within a 20 minute walk of two Churches, although I will admit proximity to where I worked when I took the place and rent (I’m renting) was more important at the time as I frequently visited family at the weekend and knew that I could get to Mass with them. I also don’t think finding one is that difficult in my location, but it would be a factor were I to move.
 
Yes, of course. But it is not a deal breaker, and should never be.
People do well to remember WHY they go. It’s not a club, it’s not to hook up with friends.
If you can find all that in the same place, great. But it’s not why Catholics go to Mass. Plus, the best way to meet wonderful people is to volunteer.
 
I too would absolutely love to live close enough to a church that I could walk to morning Mass everyday. As it is I walk a mile to my mailbox and a mile back home.

If I were to buy a house within walking distance of the church I attend, we’d have to make about 5 tiimes more than we currently do to pay for it. Seeing as my husband has never done anything other than farming and I’m a stay at home mom, I don’t see that as ever being an option.

Besides, I am surrounded by people who have known very few Catholics, and have great misunderstandings about the Catholic faith. Maybe God is using me to help bridge the gap a little.
 
Last edited:
I am very blessed in a city which perhaps have of the best heritage of Catholic Churches so I do have a choice.
 
It’s very important to me as I don’t have my own car and to be honest I do sometimes struggle to motivate myself to go to mass. I think it’s better to go to a local church as you are more likely to get involved.

Personally I would really struggle to live rurally where you had to get into a car every single time you wanted to go anywhere but each to his own.
 
I think it’s more important to find a Church with a house nearby. Unfortunately one needs to make sure that a parish is orthodox and not liberal before joining that parish.
 
I’m still at the same address I was when I became Catholic about 20 years ago, after being Protestant, so the issue of changing churches hasn’t arisen. There are 3 churches in the parish, the closest being about 6 kilometres by road, and the furthest about 20 kilometres. The fact there are 3 churches is more of a problem when there’s only one priest, but fortunately we’ve got 2 priests at the moment.

They’re chalk and cheese when it comes to personal temperament, but they work together pretty well.

If I ever move, I’ll worry about which church to attend then.
 
Didn’t matter to me when I first moved to where I am, I wouldn’t have minded driving to a Church. Now that I am up there in years, I have to admit it’s nice having a Church just 2 blocks away. Don’t have to drive in bad weather or at night to a any happenings in the Church.
 
We are moving to another state. We are going to rent. Whenever I would find a place I liked, one of the things I would do was look at Google maps and see if there is a church nearby. (The house we are going to rent has a church 13 mins walking distance - yay!). But I don’t think it would change my mind if the church was farther away. Fortunately we have a car and could drive to wherever it is 🙂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top