Attending 2 parishes

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What is the position of the church when it regards attending 2 different parishes on a routine basis? Let me give you my situation. I am a member of a parish that I enjoy and have put some roots down (KofC etc etc), but recently I attended mass at another parish that good friends of mine attend, and I really enjoyed the community there also. I feel very split in this situation. I love my parish, but my entire family as well as myself, seemed to enjoy the services at the new one a little more!
 
I attend 4 parishes regularly and help out in all of them. I have only registered in one though.
 
In the strictest sense this is not a problem. I often end up attending Mass at a parish other than my home parish, because of circumstances. (Our home parish is a rural cluster parish that only has Mass at 0830 Sunday morning. I am not a morning person. The other parish I often attend has a 5 p.m. Sunday Mass.) It might only become an issue if you want to have your children receive their faith formation and sacramental preparation because that should be done at your home parish. In addition, should you wish to marry in the Catholic Church, the pastor of your home parish needs to do the prenuptial investigation, though you are free to marry in any Catholic church as long as you have permission to do so (and it’s usually granted). Your “home parish” is defined as the one to which your home address is assigned.
 
I do this myself. Depending on time of day, if I am traveling and arriving after morning Mass at my home parish, etc. I will attend my “secondary” parish that has a 12:15 Mass.

I would say that the need for the Eucharist supersedes any obligation to one particular parish community.
 
Greg1021 said:
What is the position of the church when it regards attending 2 different parishes on a routine basis? Let me give you my situation. I am a member of a parish that I enjoy and have put some roots down (KofC etc etc), but recently I attended mass at another parish that good friends of mine attend, and I really enjoyed the community there also. I feel very split in this situation. I love my parish, but my entire family as well as myself, seemed to enjoy the services at the new one a little more!
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You can attend as many parishes as your like. You will find though, eventually, that when your children need Sacraments, or other issues come along, one parish will claim to be the one where you are registered and worship. It’s a paperwork thing, and wherever you tithe will likely have the most paper trail on you, also wherever your children receive their religious education.
My advice as a Church employee is: make a choice. Find a place where you feel most spiritually at home, and register there. An occasional Mass at a nearby parish is fine.
I used to belong to a parish that didn’t have it’s own K of C chapter. They met elsewhere as a council, and they were called to meetings and events at several parishes. No issue.
People parish hop all the time. People even go so far as to register in multiple parishes thinking they will cover their bases, but from an administrative standpoint it’s a nightmare.
Each pastor believes HE is the Priest that should make decisions regarding Sacraments, and it artificially elevates the number of parishioners in a particular parish. The parishes get “taxed” by the Archdiocese based on those numbers. If you are registered somewhere and seldom attend, you are wasting envelopes if they provide them, you might receive multiple publications from the Diocese, and you ad to the financial burdens of the parish indirectly. So there’s a lot more to it, from an administrative view, although personally, it might not impact you for some time, if ever.
May God guide your decision to find a parish home.
Peace.
 
I know of a Deacon who is assigned to one parish, but attends another parish and helps out there too because he lives very close to it.

I also belong to one parish that is about 30 minutes from me, and I love this parish as it was the one that I was raised in, but I also help out with a soup kitchen at another parish that is a little closer to my home.

Also, my wife and I will visit other churches and go to their masses because we just love visiting different churches (especially the older ones).
 
I usually attend the same Church but there are three around that I will go to, sometimes it is to do with the Mass times.
 
I attend two parishes on a regular basis because of my personal circumstances but I am only registered with one of those parishes. My tithe goes to the parish I am registered with.
 
Its good to have a few parishes that one can attend as some of the times suit better than others
 
KD8TZC said:
I know of a Deacon who is assigned to one parish, but attends another parish and helps out there too because he lives very close to it.

I also belong to one parish that is about 30 minutes from me, and I love this parish as it was the one that I was raised in, but I also help out with a soup kitchen at another parish that is a little closer to my home.

Also, my wife and I will visit other churches and go to their masses because we just love visiting different churches (especially the older ones).
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Deacons “work” for the Bishop, not their home parish, although most are assigned to their home parish. One of our Deacons was assigned to our parish from another one in the area, and years ago, I can recall when one of our Deacons was assigned to a parish that had none. The Bishop can assign them wherever he wishes, though, and he is their boss, not the Pastor. One of our Deacons (we have 2) is “pulled” often to serve at the Cathedral in some capacity.
 
I’m only registered with one parish (the one I was Confirmed at) but I go to the neighbouring parish a lot, especially for Confession.
 
Nothing at all wrong with it. I know of a fair amount of people who have strong ties to 3 or more parishes. A fairly common scenario is that an individual may have ties to the parish near there home, there childhood home, and sometimes near there job.
 
pianistclare said:
You can attend as many parishes as your like. You will find though, eventually, that when your children need Sacraments, or other issues come along, one parish will claim to be the one where you are registered and worship. It’s a paperwork thing, and wherever you tithe will likely have the most paper trail on you, also wherever your children receive their religious education.
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This has been called bad advice by canonists who know the way the Church is divided into territorial parishes. “Parish registration” is a fiction confined mostly to the United States, and enforced irregularly depending on the diocese.

The true test of parish membership is simple: Where do you live? There is exactly one parish whose boundaries encompass you, and that is your home parish for purposes of receiving sacraments such as baptism and matrimony. That is your canonical pastor and he has the right to confer these sacraments when they are requested.

Many parishes in the United States tout registration for active members. This may be important to that parish if you find yourself needing proof that you are an active member somewhere, attending and using donation envelopes. So by all means, register in the parish where you are attending, but just remember that the actual canonical test of membership is the geographic location of your domicile or quasi-domicile.

The exception to this would be personal parishes, whereby you can be a member if you qualify, for example a Polish Catholic parish, or an FSSP parish that celebrates in the Extraordinary Form.
 
My home parish, the one in which my home is located, is far too “progressive” for me so I am registered and attend at another; my wife sings in the choir of yet a third parish outside our home parish. We support both parishes outside our home parish equally but I do not financially support our home parish, one of the richest in our metro area so I’m not hurting them financially.

The concept of home parish being territorial made some sense when there was only one parish in a village and travel was difficult but today it comes a cross as archaic, medieval and really has no practical use other than requiring a parish to minister to the residents within its territory, those with no other affiliation or who have been refused by another parish.

One could argue that a parish needs and relies on the support of the residents within its boundaries, perhaps. I would argue that each parish has a responsibility to provide for the spiritual well being of its parishioners. If a parish fails its parishioners spiritually they not only a right but a responsibility to seek out a more fulfilling parish. It’s about getting to Heaven not about where one happens to reside.
 
Elizium23 said:
This has been called bad advice by canonists who know the way the Church is divided into territorial parishes. “Parish registration” is a fiction confined mostly to the United States, and enforced irregularly depending on the diocese.

The true test of parish membership is simple: Where do you live? There is exactly one parish whose boundaries encompass you, and that is your home parish for purposes of receiving sacraments such as baptism and matrimony. That is your canonical pastor and he has the right to confer these sacraments when they are requested.

Many parishes in the United States tout registration for active members. This may be important to that parish if you find yourself needing proof that you are an active member somewhere, attending and using donation envelopes. So by all means, register in the parish where you are attending, but just remember that the actual canonical test of membership is the geographic location of your domicile or quasi-domicile.

The exception to this would be personal parishes, whereby you can be a member if you qualify, for example a Polish Catholic parish, or an FSSP parish that celebrates in the Extraordinary Form.
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I can only go by what our Archbishop requests. Thanks.
 
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