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

[Anne1964]

I just moved to a new town and live directly behind my territorial parish, but as I have been registered at another parish for the past six years I don’t want to change.

I go to my registered parish for Sunday Mass and Weds. evening Mass. I am very involved with my parish and spend a lof of time there with volunteer activities.

I go to a parish near my place of work for weekday Mass as it is the only parish that offers Mass early enough in the morning.

If I am working from home I go to weekday Mass at my territorial parish. I do some volunteer work for the Diocese and use office space at my territorial parish when I need to meet with people.

My spiritual director is pastor at yet another parish and if I am able to I will attend weekday Mass there but since I changed jobs and now work further away I don’t get there very often.

I live within driving distance of at least 10 churches.

 

[adrift]

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 unable to access the map.

 

[Vico]

I was unable to access the map.

Hmmm.

Here is one showing the Mission Dioceses (Latin):

catholicextension.org/how-we-help/mission-dioceses

Can you see this map?
http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/92816442290560271_gWNFXliV_c.jpg
pinterest.com/pin/386465211743294828/

 

[RedSparklyShoes]

The closest parish is visible to our doorstep. You can hear the bells from the front room or the bedroom if the windows are open.

But we attend one a few minutes away (we are in a city). The one we attend fits our personality for sure. I’ve never been to the one closest but my husband has.

 

[Immacolata]

I always attend Mass on every Sunday and Holy Day at my territorial parish (within the Diocese of Harrisburg). I believe the first time I went to that church was at my younger sister’s baptism in 2003 (I was, along with my older siblings, baptized at a different church a few miles away); I first attended Mass there for Easter Sunday in 2007.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

I mostly attend Mass in my territorial parish, and I also engage in various activities there. When I have no responsibilities to fulfill on a given day—a situation that occurs, on average, two days per month—I attend Mass at another parish a few miles away. I like being able to participate in the Mass as a “normal” parishioner when I can, something that is all but impossible in my own parish as I have a tendency to be asked to do something before, during and/or after Mass even if I’m not scheduled to serve. The pastor of my secondary parish, who is my territorial pastor’s twin brother, understands this. The first time I went to Mass there, he told me if I wanted to come back whenever I was free in my territorial parish I would always be welcome. I’ve been abusing his hospitality ever since.

I also used to attend Mass at the cathedral once a week, but my pastor objected to this rather strongly (long story…) so I stopped.

 

[friarpark]

I also used to attend Mass at the cathedral once a week, but my pastor objected to this rather strongly (long story…) so I stopped.

Interested in hearing this story. Can’t figure out what he could object to.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

I’ll take advantage of this opportunity to clarify that my secondary parish and the cathedral I mentioned are both in my archdiocese.

Interested in hearing this story. Can’t figure out what he could object to.

To be honest, neither can I. I have my strong suspicions, but nothing concrete. In addition, it would be impossible to provide any useful detail without revealing information that may lead to positive identification of those (potentially) involved. Because of this I prefer not to relate the story, in case what I think is going on is not really the case as well as to respect everyone’s privacy regardless.

Ultimately I decided to stop fighting my pastor on this and, trusting that he has my best interests at heart, obey him. He is also my spiritual director, confessor, and sort of a surrogate dad (my real dad lives on another continent), and he has very rarely misjudged my needs. I still attend special Masses at the cathedral—ordinations, diocesan celebrations, and similar (my pastor and/or his brother are generally also present for these Masses, so one could say I’m “chaperoned” for the duration :getholy—but I no longer go regularly.