Priestly visitations

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Canon 529, sec. 1 (quoted below) of the code of canon law to requires priestly visitations to Catholic families in his parish for the purpose of edifying and instructing them, among other things. I am curious about how much this happens and, if so, what it looks like. Here is a checklist from a Protestant visitation guidlines:
gpts.edu/resources/resource_pastoral-visit.html

I would be curious about how actual Catholic practice compares / contrasts. It seems that on paper they would be consistent. The canon is here:

Can. 529§1 So that he may fulfil his office of pastor diligently, the parish priest is to strive to know the faithful entrusted to his care. He is therefore to visit their families, sharing in their cares and anxieties and, in a special way, their sorrows, comforting them in the Lord. If in certain matters they are found wanting, he is prudently to correct them. He is to help the sick and especially the dying in great charity, solicitiously restoring them with the sacraments and commending their souls to God. He is to be especially diligent in seeking out the poor, the suffering, the lonely, those who are exiled from their homeland, and those burdened with special difficulties. He is to strive also to ensure that spouses and parents are sustained in the fulfilment of their proper duties, and to foster the growth of christian life in the family.
 
My goodness if the pastors did this around here they would have to visit at least five different homes every day!

I believe they do this by invitation to dinner. Several nights a week the pastors are usually invited to have dinner with a family or two.
 
Yes, but maybe they should! In Lincoln, Nebraska, there is a priest who is visiting all the families of the parish. He meets with several families a day.

Think about it. How many Catholics aren’t going to Mass? Would you say about half? Maybe. If we visit with all the families of the parish, we are more likely to share the Truths of the faith with the family, the kind of stuff that you would read at Catholic Answers. The beauty of the Church is so moving that it’d be hard not to come back. One on one teaching and sharing could be so powerful. If I am ever a priest, I will for sure be making visits. I think all priests should strive to make visits.
 
I voted no, though perhaps I should have said,“Not that I know of.” Our parish is huge, a large number of masses on Sunday, and twice that many on holy days. Visiting us all would be a full time job in and of itself.
 
I also voted no, since I don’t know of any visits outside of the usual home communion call or home confession call.

They are invited to dinner in the parishioner’s homes.

BUT, with larger parishes (3500 families) & fewer priests (2) I see it as being impossible to make all the homes in the parish.
 
CatholicAJ:

That is impressive of your priest. What does the priest’s visitation look like? I am interested in what topics he covers (see the other link I posted, for example).

Thanks
 
T. More,

It was a parish I visited in Lincoln. I was so impressed when the priest shared his story with us. You could look up the Church and contact the priest. It is St. Mary’s in Lincoln, NE.

Does that help?
 
While it may not always be pragmatic for priests to make it to every home in his parish, I do see the great importance of this aspect of his ministry. The ministry of presence in this way will hopefully lend itself to bring families back to Mass or particular members of a family back if they see the initiative of the priest and to strengthen existing faith. Often, people are drawn to become invloved in their parish by a personal invitation of the priest or deacon, whatever the specific - be it Mass or Christian Ed or music, reading, etc. I was just having this discussion with a fellow parishioner friend the other day because we weren’t sure what the protocal was for having one’s priest over to one’s home. We didn’t know if we are required to invite the priest(s) for dinner (like they are waiting to be asked, otherwise they would never come) or if the priests make a point of trying to do home visits by their own initiatives. Perhaps it’s different in every parish and for every priest. Whether or not a parish is large or small, I think it is a vital aspect of their ministry and obviously they need to have in place a structure of priorities and things that are more pressing and of greater importance, like those who are sick or dying or in need of confession and saying Mass. This form of outreach to the families of the parish could greatly impact the witness of a given parish and increase the life of the parish which in turn could increase its community outreach, fellowship within, etc. The far-reaching effects could have such an impact overall - even if just a little, starting out small and realistic for the size of a parish.

When our priests are out of their offices, they are in effect witnessing twice, by the specific task they are doing as well as making themselves visible as representatives of Christ and His Church in the community.

My two cents…
 
Classic:

What you are sayng makes sense. While overburdened priests could not see everyone due to lack of manpower, they could perform a sort of spiritual triage and visitas many as they could, starting with the most in need.
 
I think that it would be fabulous if priests did this. I know that seeing a priest in my home as a child would have had a great effect on me. We have had the priest over to dinner once. We probably will again, but we are struggling with our pastor and associate pastor’s liberal ideas on certain things. I felt funny about inviting the priest over, but it turned out o.k. I always feel funny trying things that I have never experienced before. I would love to develop a good relationship with a priest that I trust and have my kids get to know him well. How could we get priests to try doing this? I know that the priests at our church would probably be offended if we brought up something like this. They certainly get offended if you suggest they say something pro-life during respect life month! Maybe we should concentrate on the younger priests. They seem more receptive to such things. I think that such visits would be of great value, especially in this society.
 
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