Conversational Method of Address to Priest

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I address them either as Father <First Name> or just Father.

The two lay pastoral associates that are employed at my parish address the priests just by their first name (without the title Father) which I personally find disrespectful, but the priests — humble as they are — put up with it.
 
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Usually I know ahead of time how Father prefers to be addressed. All of the priests at my parish are Father first name. Another parish we go to on occasion are known as Father last name. If I didn’t know in advance I would either say Father last name or just Father.
 
I should mention there are some monastic orders where solemnly professed monks are addressed as “Father,” whether ordained or not. This is the practice among the Carthusians, and possibly some others.

-Fr ACEGC
 
Do the priests call the pastoral associates by their first names?
 
Yes, the priests address all the laity they personally know by their first name. But they address the permanent deacon as Deacon <First name> and the religious sister as Sister <First name>.
 
my Bishop and Bishop Emeritus are very active in the Diocese, I call them Bishop (first name)
The monks in my order, by the name they prefer, father… or brother…

I have no idea at times if their name is a surname or a first name, as I think it depends on cultural conventions.

formal Bishops or Cardinals, your eminence.
 
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Hello Father the priest who took me through private instruction when I converted to Catholocism also went by his middle name,but I always referred to him as Father last name.
 
JulianN said:
Well then I understand the pastoral associates’ response.
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At other nearby parishes, the pastoral associates address the priests as either Father or Father <First name>. The pastoral associates at my parish are the exception, not the norm.
 
If the pastor wanted otherwise, I’m sure he would have asked.
 
I usually let the priest set the tone—if he calls me Julian, I would expect to call him First Name. If he calls me Ms. FirstName or Mrs.LastName then I would expect to call him Fr. FirstName or Fr. LastName.
 
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Or in some Franciscan communities everyone, ordained or not, is “brother”…except the superior, ordained or not, who is Father.
 
I was raised to call all priests Fr. Last Name. Nowadays, I address a priest how he wishes to be addressed. Until I know, he’s Fr. Last Name.
 
If it is a priest peer or younger (under 35) I usually call them fr. first name. I think that is generally because I called them by their first name prior to ordination.

Foreign priests, FSSP priests, retired priests, I call Fr. Last Name until I hear otherwise.

All Johns get called by last name as I know 13 Fr. Johns
 
I call the priest what he prefers to be called. I know priests who like to be called “Father Lastname” and others who go by “Father Firstname” to everyone, and even one with a long name who goes by “Father Firstpartofname”.

If I do not know the priest, then he’s “Father Lastname” to me unless and until I see large numbers of people calling him something else.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
If I do not know the priest, then he’s “Father Lastname” to me unless and until I see large numbers of people calling him something else.
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I don’t personally rely on this because not everyone addresses priests according to their preferences. Our current pastor is a Fr. Last Name kind of guy, but he has endured eight years of parishioners calling him by his first name—not even Fr. First Name, just First Name*—because that’s what they’re used to doing.

*note that it is not unusual here to call a priest solely by his first name.
 
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Sometimes this happens because priests take it upon themselves to address others by their first names, and then expect to have a title used for themselves. If they are consistent, people should get the message about what form of address to use.
 
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