Do you typically sit in the same location for Mass?

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Do you typically sit in the same location for Mass? I know I do – be it at my home parish or when I travel.

Gospel side of the church (facing the altar from the nave it’s the left-hand side), maybe the third or fourth row. I remember a college professor saying that people tend to sit in the same place in classrooms for a variety of reasons (left-brained, right-brained, engaged with the class, not-engaged, etc.) He encouraged us to sit in different locations from time to time, as the different perspectives would do us good, but I’ve never really followed that advice.

Also, does anyone here know anything about generations past where Catholics would make a donation (typically to buy new pews) in some areas, and they would receive a certain number of pew spaces with their family’s name on them? When did that practice end? Was it widespread in the US? I think some churches even had “box pews”?
  • Yes, I sit in the exact same location each Sunday. It would be rather unusual if a visitor took “my seat.”
  • Yes, but if someone else is sitting there, it’s no big deal.
  • Yes. I have a physical disability or I’m part of a ministry that dictates where I sit.
  • No, I really don’t care where I sit. Wherever is fine.
  • No, I purposely sit in different parts of the church to gain different perspectives.
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Yes, for the most part. I either sit in the chancel or I’ll sit on the gospel side in line with the ambo.

If someone else is sitting where I might normally sit, it’s no big deal to me. I’ll just move back or sit on the other side. Pretty much the only thing I tend to avoid is sitting on the side sections of churches that are built in the round/horseshoe shaped. It is distracting to me to be looking at other parishioners on the other side of the altar.
 
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I usually sit up near the front because the kids like to be able to see. We almost always end up on the right side because the “pius” parishioners hog the left side…that’s the side where Father distributes communion.
 
Usually, fourth row up from the altar, left side coming in from the entrance. I go to a small church, so I usually get a whole row to myself. I don’t object to other people sitting there, just most people don’t.
 
I always sit in the same place.

And seeing as my seat is the organ bench, it would be very strange indeed to see someone else sitting there.

😋

On the rare occasion when I go to mass and am not playing the organ, I sit wherever I want – such freedom! I usually gravitate to the left side, but sometimes sit on the right, front, middle, or back. But really, it’s so rare, that I don’t really know.
 
Yes, I tend to sit in the same spot at Mass, but if someone else is already there when I arrive I just sit somewhere else. When I take my mom to Mass we sit in the disabled section, and she likes one spot in particular near a column that she uses to steady herself. If someone gets to that pew before us, she is flustered, but we adapt. We actually arrive at the church a half hour before Mass. Some might assume we are piously preparing for the Sacred Mysteries well ahead of time, but it is really so that Mom can have her usual seat!
 
I tend to sit in the same general location, but as others have said it’s no big deal.
 
I don’t so much any more because when my parents were alive, they wished to sit in the same place each week mostly due to physical disability issues so they could receive Communion most easily, and I got tired of sitting there and now like to sit around the churches in different spots.
 
I tend to gravitate to the same section but not necessarily the same exact pew. If I’m reading I like to sit closer to the front so that I don’t have to walk far to get to the ambo and I always sit on the ambo side (left as you’re looking at the altar) so that I don’t have to cross in front of the Tabernacle.
 
For daily Mass I sit in the same exact spot. If I can’t sit there I’m fine. For Sunday Mass I sit in the general area of the 3-4 pews, I prefer to get as close to the front as I can except for the first pew as it is reserved for those who are disabled or very elderly.

I try to get to Mass early enough that I can sit row 2-4. I always sit on the right side, looking at the tabernacle, which is where the ambo is in my parish ( I dislike the back of the church because it is so distracting for me.
 
I move away from the parents that refuse to control their kids, so I’ll sit pretty much anywhere.
 
Same day, same time, same seat, same Priest. Different readings tho. 😇
 
I have a usual spot where I sit. A few rows doesn’t make that much of a difference. My priest kinda mumbles, so I usually aim to sit in front of one of the speakers.

Now that I come to think about it, I always sit on the right side of any church I enter. 🤨
 
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Horton said:
I try to get to Mass early enough that I can sit row 2-4.
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That gave me a chuckle. In my parish it seems the front rows are the last to fill in. You need to get there early if you want to sit in the middle to back or on ends.

When all 9 of us in my family endup at the same mass I like to sit in the middle of the pew so that those who insist on sitting on the ends get the joy of having kids squeezing past them every 10 minutes. I know it’s childish, but I’ve never understood why a pew that can sit 20 will have maybe 3 or 4 people on it (1 or 2 at either end). I understand that some might have a reason to sit on the end, but if you refuse to slide in then don’t grouse when 8, 10, 12 people have to squeeze in front of you.
 
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I sit in one of two pews. If my friend is there, I sit with her, about 5 pews from the altar. If she isn’t there, (and sometimes when she is) I’ll sit about 4 pews from the back.
 
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I have went to Sunday Mass at two different cathedrals where I got there early, settled in (and not on the end either), and then had people stand next to me with the expectation I would move. I just ignored both of them.
 
Sit against the back wall of the Church, only because I am an usher. I kind of got drafted into the job. When I am not ushering, I tend to sit randomly.
 
I always sit on the end unless my friend makes me move, or more of our friends join us and it’s too big of a deal to let them, climb over me. But, yeah, I prefer to sit on the end.
 
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