Do You Attend Mass at Your Terroritorial Parish or Even Within Your Diocese?

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I go to my parish church where i was confirmed. I had emergency baptism so I cannot attend the hospital ward even if it was still there.

I have continued attending since I was 15 got confirmed about 16 and have continued through variety of priests some I liked better than others. Its home.
 
CMatt25 said:
Anp, either Houston does not have the humidity or heat as where I live, though I believe it does, or you just don’t perspire as much as me. 😃 When I’ve attended Catholic Masses, I’d have liked the idea of walking too. And the closest Catholic church to me is 1 1/2 miles as well. I’d have a sidewalk but would have to cross a heavily travelled intersection. But in hot, humid weather I’m not sure how that would have worked for me. Granted I’d most likely be in cooler clothing such as a nice pair of knee length shorts and a short sleeve shirt. But still I might have ended up showing up less than dry. 😃 Nevertheless I don’t care for a priest’s homilies there. So when I’ve gone to Catholic Mass since, I’ve spent gas and driven 10 miles round trip.
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Oh it was nasty outside. It sneaks up on you. It was about 8:30 so it was not HOT, but very humid and gross. When you walk outside, it feels OK, but after walking down the street, you are feeling sticky and uncomfortable. I actually perspire very little, someone like my husband would have been drenched by the end of the street. Another humid day tomorrow, 100% at 7 am when I leave for work.
 
Phemie said:
Oh, I realize all that now, but 33 years ago canon law wasn’t on my radar. In fact, I never knew about permission at all until I was preparing baptismal certificates for our neighboring parish/mission and came across an entry in the Register : Jane Brown born MM/DD/YY in City X, baptized at St. Anne-de-Beaupré July 26/YY (without permission). Parents: Jane Black and John Brown.

Ignoring the fact that that should not have been in that register at all, it was the first time I’d had any inkling that I should have had permission to take DD & DS1 home to be baptized. I subsequently looked it up in Canon Law. But in the same way as we weren’t told that DS2’s United Church uncle wasn’t a godfather/sponsor but a Christian witness, we weren’t told by the priest in my hometown that we/he needed permission for our son to be baptized there.

When I prepare parents for Baptism and the Baptism will take place elsewhere I make sure to mention in the letter to the baptizing Priest that the Pastor gives his permission for the child to be baptized in parish X, Y or Z.
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Also, back then, it was the 1917 canon law, (with various changes applied), and also not as easy to understand (unless you know Latin).
 
I live in North Carolina, along the border with Georgia. We have a mission here in our town, but the priest is part-time and resides at his parish 20 miles away. In any event, he acts unorthodox, as in balking at the term “Father” when referring to God (unless it is a formulary prayer, such as the Sign of the Cross or the Lord’s Prayer). He also gave a rant once in his homily about how he rejected the Latin Mass and scolded the Holy Father for bringing it into wider use.

The upshot is we found a church about 17 miles away in Georgia, with which we clicked and are active in the parish.

We are planning to move to that town, should we ever be able to sell our house, so we consider that our home parish, although it is in a different diocese.

Are we violating canon law?
 
I live in San Francisco, California. For Sundays and Holy Days I attend Mass across the bay in Oakland, California at St. Margaret Mary’s as it’s the only EF Mass in my area (to which I have an affinity). If I get the urge to spur of the moment attend Mass on a weekday, or if for some reason my work/study schedule precludes me from taking public transit to Oakland, I’ll attend at St. Dominic’s here in SF (which has a very reverently celebrated OF).

Officially, I’m registered as a parishioner at St. Dominic’s here in San Francisco, but I probably spend about 70-80% of my liturgical life at the other parish. I’d probably spend more time here at my parish in SF if the teachings from the pulpit complemented the beautiful liturgy they have (if you catch my drift).

I think the allowance for variation which came from V.II necessitates that parishioners be allowed to wander around to find a good home in which they fit. If we were still obligated to attend Mass at our territorial parish despite the variation in liturgical practice, I’d probably go mad. Even St. Dominic’s is outside of my actual parish territory. The Catholic parish up the street from my apartment is heavily into the Charismatic movement, which quite honestly freaks me out. I’m also a convert to the Catholic Church who first found Christ at St. Dominic’s. Had my first experience of a Catholic liturgy been the Charismatic Mass, I probably would have left before the Gospel Reading and never looked back.
 
There are three parishes that feel like home to me:
  1. The parish in my home town, where I was confirmed and had First Communion,
  2. The parish in my mom’s home town, where my parents were married, and where my dad and my sister were baptized, and
  3. The Newman Center at my college
 
There are territorial restrictions placed on priests but for the laity, there’s no reason to concern yourself with parish territories. You may receive the sacraments at any parish. Parish priests may impose certain requirements, say, for using the parish for your nuptial but they don’t have to. Parish “registrations” are purely for parish administration and have no legal effects.

Your diocese does matter, but even then not much. You can received the sacraments in any diocese unless of course the bishop has prohibited you. Otherwise, I can only think of two instances where your diocese matters. Travelers have the option of obeying the legal obligations of their home diocese (e.g., meat on Fridays). And your diocese is the proper authority for judicial actions like annulments.
 
I have a territorial parish that’s in a city, but I live in the country nearby. There are two parishes about five miles apart from each other. Our “territorial parish” is a bit closer, but not by much. I have historic antecedents in both, and ancestors buried in the cemeteries of both. Sometimes we go to our “territorial parish”, but mostly we go to the other one.

Why?

Well, first of all the one we mostly go to is a magnificent old German-built church whereas our 'territorial" parish church is moderned up. The one we go to has a fabulous pipe organ and a fairly decent choir, whereas it’s guitars in our “territorial” parish. The one we go to is far more active with a lot of lay participation…not in governance, but in service. The two are nearly the same size in parishioners, and the contrast is really surprising.

I guess we’re supposed to go to the “territorial” one, but we don’t. One of our daughters who was then in graduate school when she married, got married in the “non-territorial” one. Being in school, she really didn’t have a truly territorial parish of her own. I guess people shouldn’t think of it this way, but as between the gorgeous old German church and the moderned-up one for her wedding, it wasn’t hard for her to choose. I’ll say that her wedding photos are stunning in that church.
 
I left my territorial parish to become Catholic.
(The ‘clincher’ reason for my conversion was that I finally realized that Jesus established a Church that taught with authority. When I approached my parish priest about converting his response was to tell me that I didn’t have to learn or obey all that old fashioned stuff. The exact opposite of what convinced me that I had to convert!)
I live in a rural community of about 3500 souls, with one Catholic Church.

I can walk to my territorial parish in about 20 - 30 minutes depending on the weather. My territorial parish celebrates the Ordinary Form of Mass only. (And the choice of music is horrible.)
My parish of choice is a good 45 minute car ride away in the city. It is an FSSP parish. I find it much easier to truly worship our Lord at the Latin Mass.

Originally for health reasons, and now economic reasons, it is virtually impossible to secure the car for even one Sunday drive per week.

Living in a small rural community it is hard to stick with your territorial parish when it will not offer the Extraordinary Form … unless you love the OF.

This has caused me a lot of grief over the years. I won’t go into that now.
 
I mostly attend Mass at another parish in my diocese but I also occasionally attend Mass at my territorial parish.
 
I do believe there was a requirement at one time that people attend their local parish.This rule is no longer in place.In our case,our local parish church is a large building that,like most modern Catholic churches,could easily be any protestant church.I know it is a church-but it seems like one should be watching a basketball game there.There is no sense of holiness.Our local church is less then 2 miles away.We attend the next closest church for 2 reasons.First,we have sons that live in that area (18 miles away) and it alows us to attend mass with family (sons,daughters-in-laws,grandchildren).This is a small,rural church that is a very traditional church building and just feels like a holy place.Also,we are plain-catholics and have others similar to us there.The priest is also very kindly disposed towards plain-catholics.
 
ohioplain1 said:
I do believe there was a requirement at one time that people attend their local parish.This rule is no longer in place.In our case,our local parish church is a large building that,like most modern Catholic churches,could easily be any protestant church.I know it is a church-but it seems like one should be watching a basketball game there.There is no sense of holiness.Our local church is less then 2 miles away.We attend the next closest church for 2 reasons.First,we have sons that live in that area (18 miles away) and it alows us to attend mass with family (sons,daughters-in-laws,grandchildren).This is a small,rural church that is a very traditional church building and just feels like a holy place.Also,we are plain-catholics and have others similar to us there.The priest is also very kindly disposed towards plain-catholics.
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I remember reading about that change. It was in the 1917 code.

There are certain rights that Catholics have that the proper pastor is required to provide. Some permissions must be obtained from the proper pastor and proper ordinary. The proper pastor is usually based upon territory, but a Catholic could be a member of a personal ordinariate or personal parish instead.

CIC has the following (similar in CCEO):

Can. 102 §1 Domicile is acquired by residence in the territory of a parish, or at least of a diocese, which is either linked to the intention of remaining there permanently if nothing should occasion its withdrawal, or in fact protracted for a full five years.
§2 Quasi-domicile is acquired by residence in the territory of a parish, or at least of a diocese, which is either linked to the intention of remaining there for three months if nothing should occasion its withdrawal, or in fact protracted for three months.
§3 Domicile or quasi-domicile in the territory of a parish is called parochial; in the territory of a diocese, even if not in a parish, it is called diocesan.

Can. 106 Domicile or quasi-domicile is lost by departure from the place with the intention of not returning, without prejudice to the provisions of can. 105.
Can. 107 §1 Both through domicile and through quasi-domicile everyone acquires his or her own parish priest and Ordinary.
§2 The proper parish priest or Ordinary of a vagus is the parish priest or Ordinary of the place where the vagus is actually residing.
§3 The proper parish priest of one who has only a diocesan domicile or quasi-domicile is the parish priest of the place where that person is actually residing.
 
when I was born I was in one parish this is where we attended for a while, then when I was in 6th grade or so we changed parishes to the cathedral which was closer to where we lived and actually we moved when I was 2 so we changed territories as far as parishes go. The parish we are members doesn’t include our house in its territory.

but now being at seminary I go to mass in another diocese.
 
I didn’t vote

My situation is strange? for want of a better word.

The closest Church is 11 miles from our home but this is in another Diocese. The closest Church in our Diocese is thirty miles but because of where we live that means a 45 minute drive if the roads are dry. The Diocese we belong to acknowledges that we are parishoners of the closest Church but we still belong to the further away Diocese. I have never checked to see what parish we might belong to by territory.

I do go to Church in my own Dioscese traveling anywhere from 45 minutes to an 1 1/2. It is harder during the winter since the roads are sometimes trecherous. Part of my trip is through a 30 mile canyon.When it snows:eek:

My daughter lives in one Diocese and is a parishoner in another. Her Church is small and very friendly. It is actually a mission of another Church. She made a wise decision in her choice.
 
I attend my parent’s territorial parish. If not for my parents, I’d go to a church much closer to me that celebrates an EF Mass every week and features a Benedictine arrangement and very dignified celebrations.
 
My diocese has no parish boundries, at least that they let be known. I have never heard a single priest make one remark about it. I attend the closest parish, which is in a diffrent city in which I live, but in the same phone exchange. I have no idea where the boundary is, nor does the diocese seem to care.

Yet I agree with Cat, for the same reason. I do not believe in Church hopping. It may be necessary for those with a spiritual need, but I think it a bad idea if it can be avoided. It is like divorce. If one is committed to a relationship, it is amazing what can be worked out, and how much spiritual growth one can have through adversity. I a have been tempted a few times to move to the other parish. Yet I can not help but feel that would be avoiding being where God has put me. In good times and in bad, as the saying goes.
 
adrift said:
I didn’t vote

My situation is strange? for want of a better word.

The closest Church is 11 miles from our home but this is in another Diocese. The closest Church in our Diocese is thirty miles but because of where we live that means a 45 minute drive if the roads are dry. The Diocese we belong to acknowledges that we are parishoners of the closest Church but we still belong to the further away Diocese. I have never checked to see what parish we might belong to by territory.

I do go to Church in my own Dioscese traveling anywhere from 45 minutes to an 1 1/2. It is harder during the winter since the roads are sometimes trecherous. Part of my trip is through a 30 mile canyon.When it snows:eek:

My daughter lives in one Diocese and is a parishoner in another. Her Church is small and very friendly. It is actually a mission of another Church. She made a wise decision in her choice.
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I think it happens to many. Assuming you are settled where you live now and you are not in a personal parish or personal ordinariate, then your proper parish is certainly in the diocese you live in. I think the parishes know their own boundaries.

Have you seen this map?
cdeducation.org/oym/connections/dioceseusmap.htm

Some parishes use zip codes.
See Diocese of Austin:

austindiocese.org/parishes.php
 
I was not confirmed at my territorial parish, but that is where I am now a member.
 
pnewton said:
My diocese has no parish boundries, at least that they let be known. I have never heard a single priest make one remark about it. I attend the closest parish, which is in a diffrent city in which I live, but in the same phone exchange. I have no idea where the boundary is, nor does the diocese seem to care.

Yet I agree with Cat, for the same reason. I do not believe in Church hopping. It may be necessary for those with a spiritual need, but I think it a bad idea if it can be avoided. It is like divorce. If one is committed to a relationship, it is amazing what can be worked out, and how much spiritual growth one can have through adversity. I a have been tempted a few times to move to the other parish. Yet I can not help but feel that would be avoiding being where God has put me. In good times and in bad, as the saying goes.
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I agree
 
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