What is a parish?

A foretaste of the first parishes can be found in the letters of St Paul when he wrote about the early Christians forming small communities as being the domestic church[1]. Today, parishes remain the geographical way in which we organise our arch/dioceses. This arrangement ensures that no matter where a person resides, they “belong” to a particular Catholic community – a parish – which is under the care of a priest and the authority of the local bishop.

The Code of Canon Law defines a parish as “a certain community of the Christian faithful stably constituted in a particular church, whose pastoral care is entrusted to a pastor (parochus) as its proper pastor (pastor) under the authority of the diocesan bishop” (Can. 515 §1).

The parish is not an outdated institution.

It is in parishes that Catholics come together to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist – through the reception of his Body and Blood, in hearing and reflecting on God’s Word, in the community of believers and in the ministry of the priest. Through the Eucharist, and other parish initiatives, parishioners are formed as disciples – followers of Jesus who pray, worship and love others. Then, by being formed and nourished within the parish community, these Catholics accept their baptismal calling – their mission – to go out into the world and be Christ to all they meet.

While certainly not the only institution which evangelises, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”. This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed group made up of a chosen few. The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration. In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelisers. It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach. We must admit, though, that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented.[2]

Mission focused parishes

The final sentence of the above quote draws our attention to the ongoing task of renewing our parishes for mission.  This task of reassessing the effectiveness of a parish’s missionary strategy was also highlighted in the decrees and commitments made at Australia’s Fifth Plenary Council (see the resources list below for more information on this).

There is much that could be written about parish life. Suffice to say, it is often commented that no two parishes are the same and therefore each parish, while drawing on the wisdom of pastoral practitioners, needs to discern how to be missionary by using the gifts God has granted to the baptised in that place, and at that time.

In Australia, we are becoming more aware of the cultural, ethnic and spiritual diversity which is to be found in many of our parishes. Such awareness should cause parish leadership to be open to the ways these parishioners can enrich parish life. As well, parishes should aim to become more aware of, and respond to the needs of those beyond the community who gather for the Eucharist. A regular reassessment of how a parish is responding to its call it be missionary should be a central feature of parish planning. 

Synodality and the parish

As the entire Church is called to be more synodal, Pope Francis writes of how parishes are integral to this idea of walking together on our journeys of faith. He writes,

“The Parish community is called truly to master the “art of accompaniment”. If deep roots are planted, the Parish will become a place where solitude is overcome, which has affected so many lives, as well as being “a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey and a centre of constant missionary outreach”.[3]

Resources for parish communities

 

[1] Congregation for the Clergy. The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelising mission of the Church, n. 6 (Vatican, 20 July 2020). This is a useful document to read, especially Part II.

[2] Francis. Apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, Evangelii Gaudium, #28 (24 November 2013).

[3] Congregation for the Clergy. The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelising mission of the Church, n. 26 (Vatican, 20 July 2020).