Do I need to have a parish?

[Flopfoot]

Just wondering… is it very important to be part of a parish? There was once a time when I was ‘church hopping’ - going to a different church every week because it was interesting to see different places and hear different priests. But even in general I don’t really know what parish I am part of - there’s the place I live and where I used to go to church when I was young (still go there occasionally, and contribute money there), another parish where I go to mass most often these days, and another parish where my (ex?) youth group is and where I help out with music and reading sometimes… so I don’t know what to consider to be my parish. Do I have to have just 1 church which I consider my parish, and try to go there to mass as regularly as I can? Or is it okay to have no fixed parish?

 

[puzzleannie]

you are a member of the parish in whose boundaries you reside. If you wish to be a member of another parish you must register there. If you approach a parish for religious education, sacramental preparation, marriage, funerals etc. you will be asked if you are a member. You should probably register at the parish where you attend Mass and support that parish financially and with your time and talent.

 

[Pug]

On a different view, I recommend being part of a parish to be part of it. Forming its direction by being a member, being recognized and prayed for, constituting the community in which little Catholics get to grow up, acting as a group in social action. I find it very nice to **be **a member, that is, it is part of what I am, a member. We are made better people by participation in or belonging in communities.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Flopfoot:

Just wondering… is it very important to be part of a parish? There was once a time when I was ‘church hopping’ - going to a different church every week because it was interesting to see different places and hear different priests. But even in general I don’t really know what parish I am part of - there’s the place I live and where I used to go to church when I was young (still go there occasionally, and contribute money there), another parish where I go to mass most often these days, and another parish where my (ex?) youth group is and where I help out with music and reading sometimes… so I don’t know what to consider to be my parish. Do I have to have just 1 church which I consider my parish, and try to go there to mass as regularly as I can? Or is it okay to have no fixed parish?

A Catholic is required to be registered at a parish. In most diocese it does not have to be the parish you live in. But you should be registered somewhere.

 

[Giannawannabe]

Br. Rich SFO:

A Catholic is required to be registered at a parish. In most diocese it does not have to be the parish you live in. But you should be registered somewhere.

I was wondering about this myself. We attend Mass regularly at a Monastery. It is not a parish, and I worry about whether we should register at the local parish. We are still registered at our old parish, but never attend there. The local parish is where I attend daily Mass, Holy Days of Obligation, Stations of the Cross, etc. Could you site where this is written? I’d like to show my husband who doesn’t think we need to register at a parish, since we like going to Mass at the Monastery.

 

[mosher]

First, in Can 518 you find that the character of the parish is to be territorial:

As a general rule, a parish is to be territorial, that is, it is to embrace all Christ’s faithful of a given territory. Where it is useful, however, personal parishes are to be established, determined by reason of the rite, language or nationality of Christ’s faithful of a certain territory, or on some other basis.

This implies the necessity of regestration. However, the duties of the Pastor of a Parish seem to strongly require that a record of his parishoners be kept so that he can function as the Church requires him to in the law. However, I don’t konow of any specific canon that requires the faithful to register at a parish. However it is possible that it is particular law in the US per the USCCB.

 

[Kielbasi]

A parish is a geographical subdivision of a diocese.

You are part of the parish in which you live, regardless of whether or not you are registered or not.

 

[A2SciTeach]

If one changes parishes, that is to say, no longer attends the parish he/she is registered with, is it necessary to register with the new parish, and if so, how do you UN-register with the former parish?

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

A2SciTeach:

If one changes parishes, that is to say, no longer attends the parish he/she is registered with, is it necessary to register with the new parish, and if so, how do you UN-register with the former parish?

You simply tell your current parish that you are going to register and attend at another parish. In some diocese this requires the permission of your current pastor, in most it does not. Usually the new parish will ask you where your old parish was and notify them and may ask for your Sacramental records.