Can you be a member of two parishes in your diocese at the same time?

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dumspirospero

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Can you be a member of two parishes at the same time, if one of them is the Cathedral of the Diocese? If so, how do you go about doing it?
 
you are a member of your geographical parish by virtue of living within its boundaries, whether or not you register formally, and have the right to receive sacraments there. you may attend Mass at any parish you wish, and direct your contributions there, even register in another parish. If your diocese has ethnic parishes you may belong to that parish as well. If you belong to another rite, you belong to the closest parish of that rite, but if it is too far away geographically you may attend Mass and receive the sacraments in your territorial parish.
 
We have two homes and two parishes. One home in the small town where my wife grew up and the other in a major city where there is greater opportunity for employment. Though we consider our home in the small town “our home”. We spend more time in the city of our employment.

We were married and all our children baptized in our parish that we consider our home in the small town. The priest of our parish in the small town did require that we get approval to do so from our parish priest in the city.

We support and participate in both parishes.

Peace in Christ,
Steven Merten
www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
 
I “officially” belong—meaning, I’m registered—as a parishioner in two parishes. One is close by and I occasionally go there for daily Mass or confession. We used to attend that church weekly. However, I found a more orthodox and more beautiful church some distance away (30 miles) where the priest gives terrific, challenging homilies and does not water down Church teaching. That’s now where we regularly attend and where I am involved in parish life. I donate to that parish, not the first. I suppose I ought to cancel my membership in the first parish, not because it’s against church law or anything, but because it costs them money to mail me bulletins.

Which is all a long way of saying, yes.
 
Well…my predicament is this…I never registered at The Cathedral in the first place…I have always been a parishioner there because that is where I went through RCIA and was accepted into The Church…so I never really had to register, I just became a parishioner automatically…it is a wonderful Church…I love the Priest and the parishioners…plus the Bishop is there often and it is very orthodox and the Novus Ordo is done without any liturgical abuses…however, I also love the Latin Mass and there is a parish right down the road from the Cathedral that has an Indult TLM and I would also like to become a registered Parishioner there without withdrawing from the Cathedral…is that possible? Do I have to provide them with any paper work proving I am Catholic? I know this may sound like a dumb question, but like I said earlier…I have never had to register at a Parish, because I have only belonged to one Parish…so what do I have to do exactly to register at St. Agnes (where they offer the TLM) and still retain my status at the Cathedral? Thanks in advance for the wonderful help.

I guess basically…how do I go about registering at this Parish I am very fond of, without abandoning the Parish that brought me home to The Catholic Church?
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puzzleannie:
you are a member of your geographical parish by virtue of living within its boundaries, whether or not you register formally, and have the right to receive sacraments there. you may attend Mass at any parish you wish, and direct your contributions there, even register in another parish. If your diocese has ethnic parishes you may belong to that parish as well. If you belong to another rite, you belong to the closest parish of that rite, but if it is too far away geographically you may attend Mass and receive the sacraments in your territorial parish.
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Sherlock:
I “officially” belong—meaning, I’m registered—as a parishioner in two parishes. One is close by and I occasionally go there for daily Mass or confession. We used to attend that church weekly. However, I found a more orthodox and more beautiful church some distance away (30 miles) where the priest gives terrific, challenging homilies and does not water down Church teaching. That’s now where we regularly attend and where I am involved in parish life. I donate to that parish, not the first. I suppose I ought to cancel my membership in the first parish, not because it’s against church law or anything, but because it costs them money to mail me bulletins.

Which is all a long way of saying, yes.
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Took the words right out of my mouth. I concur.
 
bump
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dumspirospero:
Well…my predicament is this…I never registered at The Cathedral in the first place…I have always been a parishioner there because that is where I went through RCIA and was accepted into The Church…so I never really had to register, I just became a parishioner automatically…it is a wonderful Church…I love the Priest and the parishioners…plus the Bishop is there often and it is very orthodox and the Novus Ordo is done without any liturgical abuses…however, I also love the Latin Mass and there is a parish right down the road from the Cathedral that has an Indult TLM and I would also like to become a registered Parishioner there without withdrawing from the Cathedral…is that possible? Do I have to provide them with any paper work proving I am Catholic? I know this may sound like a dumb question, but like I said earlier…I have never had to register at a Parish, because I have only belonged to one Parish…so what do I have to do exactly to register at St. Agnes (where they offer the TLM) and still retain my status at the Cathedral? Thanks in advance for the wonderful help.

I guess basically…how do I go about registering at this Parish I am very fond of, without abandoning the Parish that brought me home to The Catholic Church?
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I don’t think it’s “forbidden”, though it might cause problems for the diocesen census.

One thing you might want to look into is to see if your secondary parish (the Cathedral?) can place you as an “associate” member or something similar, so that you will still be on the lists as a member there.

The parishes might also be able to tag your membership so that there is a note in it that you also belong to another parish.

In the end, though, no I don’t think it is a huge problem for you to register at the second parish as well, if you will continue to support both parishes financially.

+veritas+
 
THanks for the info Veritas…it is helpful, but I am still unsure how to register at this second Parish, because I have never had to do it before. Do I fill out a paper, or just register to receive tithing envelopes or what?
+veritas+:
I don’t think it’s “forbidden”, though it might cause problems for the diocesen census.

One thing you might want to look into is to see if your secondary parish (the Cathedral?) can place you as an “associate” member or something similar, so that you will still be on the lists as a member there.

The parishes might also be able to tag your membership so that there is a note in it that you also belong to another parish.

In the end, though, no I don’t think it is a huge problem for you to register at the second parish as well, if you will continue to support both parishes financially.

+veritas+
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I think it depends upon your diocese. Some diocese, I’m told, make you register in the geographical parish where you live, but allow you to attend Mass elsewhere. Check with your diocese.
 
Dumspirospero,

Just go to the parish that you want to register in and register. It’s probably going to be a simple form, asking the basic questions: are you married; is your spouse Catholic; how many kids; has every one had the sacraments; etc. It’s no big deal, and I doubt that there is some Church law that says you HAVE to belong to one particular parish based on your geographical location.

By the way, our parish council recently completed a parish survey and found that 79 zipcodes, representing almost 50 cities, are registered in our parish. Why do people come from all over? Because they are finding orthodoxy, beauty, and challenging Catholicism at our parish. (Frankly, given the state of our culture, being an orthodox Catholic IS challenging, and a challenge to the culture. Just my two cents…)
 
It looks like the source of that information is an RCIA program—sorry, but that doesn’t mean it’s accurate information.

I’ll be visiting with a deacon tonight who is also a canon lawyer—I’ll ask him.
 
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dumspirospero:
THanks for the info Veritas…it is helpful, but I am still unsure how to register at this second Parish, because I have never had to do it before. Do I fill out a paper, or just register to receive tithing envelopes or what?
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just go and register, they will inform you of the method they use, envelopes, tithing pledge whatever. you are required to support the parish you belong to, common sense tells you that if you are going to participate in worship and parish life you should bear your share of the ongoing expenses. You should register and support the parish where you intend to attend Mass, catechize your children and bring them to the sacraments. If that is not your geographic parish for whatever reason, you should still register there. Some pastors enforce the geographic parish concept rigidly and will not allow you to register if you are outside their boundaries. You may still attend Mass there, but it will cause problems when the time comes for baptisms etc. If you are active in two parishes, and participating in their activities you should support them both financially.
 
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dumspirospero:
Well…my predicament is this…I never registered at The Cathedral in the first place…I have always been a parishioner there because that is where I went through RCIA and was accepted into The Church…so I never really had to register, I just became a parishioner automatically…it is a wonderful Church…I love the Priest and the parishioners…plus the Bishop is there often and it is very orthodox and the Novus Ordo is done without any liturgical abuses…however, I also love the Latin Mass and there is a parish right down the road from the Cathedral that has an Indult TLM and I would also like to become a registered Parishioner there without withdrawing from the Cathedral…is that possible? Do I have to provide them with any paper work proving I am Catholic? I know this may sound like a dumb question, but like I said earlier…I have never had to register at a Parish, because I have only belonged to one Parish…so what do I have to do exactly to register at St. Agnes (where they offer the TLM) and still retain my status at the Cathedral? Thanks in advance for the wonderful help.

I guess basically…how do I go about registering at this Parish I am very fond of, without abandoning the Parish that brought me home to The Catholic Church?
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A Catholic can only be registered in one parish at any time. It is true that you may live in one parish but not be a registered member of that parish church. If allowed by the Bishop in most diocese you can register in a parish church in who’s parish boundries you do not live. Some diocese do not allow this and require you to register in the parish church in the parish you live in. Although you may attend Mass in any Catholic Church.

A needed point: You do NOT “just became a parishioner automatically” by going through RCIA. You must register in the parish church by filling out a registration. Canon Law does require all Catholics to be registered in a parish church.
 
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dumspirospero:
I guess basically…how do I go about registering at this Parish I am very fond of, without abandoning the Parish that brought me home to The Catholic Church?
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I am in a similar situation. I have a Catholic Church less than a mile away from my home. However, for reasons that I would rather not go into, I do not attend Mass there. Instead, I drive 30 minutes away and attend Mass at our Cathedral. When I first moved to the area, I registered at the closer parish. Then after a few months I decided to register at the Cathedral and have been attending there ever since. Geographically, my parish is St Stephens, but that does not mean that I cannot attend Mass at the Cathedral. If you want to know how to register or if you have other questions, I would contact St. Agnes at 225-383-4127 and ask. I am sure that they would be more than willing to help you.
God bless.
 
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