PARROCCHIA

PARISH. – It is an institution of ecclesiastical origin, established within the diocese for the direct care of souls within a specific territorial jurisdiction.

I. ORIGIN

From the earliest days of Christianity, the diocese generally had its organizational core in the urban center. It is evident that in regions where cities were very close to one another, true rural centers did not form, and consequently small ecclesiastical organizations did not arise; indeed, in the East, where rural bishoprics (chorepiscopates) seemed about to emerge, they met with opposition, and even rural parishes were organized only with difficulty and at a later date. Instead, preference was given to bishoprics with limited jurisdictions and populations, as in Asia Minor and especially in Proconsular Africa and Numidia, as well as in some regions of central and southern Italy, where only with the decline of many cities during the barbarian invasions did parochial-type jurisdictions later form.

In countries, however, where cities were more sparse, numerous vici arose—small agricultural centers, villas, or estates of large landowners, particularly in the Po Valley and in central and southern Gaul. It became necessary, therefore, first to provide for the conversion of these rural populations (which could not be done until the urban nucleus was firmly established) and then to ensure their constant spiritual care. It was preferred not to fragment the diocese into small, independent communities that would have had a precarious and uncertain existence, but to organize these, on a smaller scale, along the lines of the urban model, under the direct authority of the bishop.

What had already been achieved by the 6th century, at least in broad outline, in the aforementioned regions served as a model for reorganizing, in the 7th–8th centuries, the lands reconquered from barbarism (Noricum, the Rhenish lands, northern Belgica, Upper Pannonia) or newly evangelized from the 9th century onward, as episcopal structures were reestablished or erected: vast dioceses because the inhabitants were few and scattered and there were very few places suitable to serve as centers of organization. Meanwhile, the gradual development of civil life and the growth of the population, especially in rural areas, gradually brought about the parochial system, so much so that it can truly be said that this system advanced in step with—and was one of the most effective factors in—the progress of the nation and society. The rural church was the gathering place for the dispersed peasantry in the fields, valleys, and forests; there the people felt themselves united and guided in religious life. All this took place under the direct oversight of the bishop, who often ceded to the parish part of the ownership of his church or encouraged private owners or benefactors to establish the necessary endowment.

When, under the Carolingian regime, the payment of tithes to the church was organized, these tithes, along with offerings, would particularly benefit the parish. Then, when monasticism in the 7th century began to accumulate ever larger and more important estates in the countryside, it found itself having to provide for the spiritual life on its lands, building chapels and even organizing communities and true parishes, entrusting them to its own monks or to clerics dependent on it, without, at least initially, breaking the dependence on the bishop. The monastery itself could thus also serve as a parish or have dependent parishes.

Finally, there were also cases—quite frequent beyond the Alps—of great lay lords who built churches on their estates for their own benefit and that of their dependents, and who considered themselves the owners of these churches to the point of disposing of them as their own property. All this disrupted the organic and uniform structure that had characterized the diocese of early Christianity, especially after feudal law permeated ecclesiastical benefices (v.) and other institutions. The patrimonies of parishes, particularly tithes, were reduced and diverted to the benefit of other institutions and even lay entities; parishes were subjected to cathedral chapters so that these might enjoy their revenues while entrusting spiritual governance to their own dependents; within parochial benefices, prebends were established that had nothing to do with the care of souls. By the 15th and 16th centuries, parochial benefices were conferred upon ecclesiastical dignitaries and even lower-ranking clerics, often accumulated in the same persons.

The legislation that had intervened in the 12th century to limit lay interference through provisions on the right of patronage was followed by the Council of Trent, which restored parochial discipline to its original concept and made it one of the cornerstones of the Catholic Reformation (Sess. XIV, *De reformatione*, c. 9; Sess. XXIV, *De reformatione*, c. 13). The discipline in force today is merely its updated continuation.

Particular attention must be given to the parochial system in cities. Only in the largest and most populous cities from the earliest Christian era was a special organization required: in Rome, as early as the 3rd century, this was addressed by establishing the *tituli* (v.); in Alexandria, successive churches arose in different districts from that time onward. In other cities, later on, such as Milan, Verona, and Lucca, urban or suburban sanctuaries were served by special colleges of clerics or even by monks. From the 13th century, the great churches of the mendicant orders became centers of religious life and special gatherings of the laity. Efforts were made to maintain at least symbolically the unity of the entire population by reserving special honors and rights to the cathedral, such as the exclusive right to a baptistery; but the constant growth of the urban population everywhere led, though in different ways in each city, to the emergence of a network of churches through which the care of souls was provided. Here too, Tridentine legislation intervened to regulate relationships and to encourage the establishment of true parishes where they had not yet been formed.

Pio Paschini

II. DIVISION

Parishes (p.) can be: 1) independent, if they have no juridical relationship of coexistence with others, or incorporated, if they are united with an ecclesiastical office or institute. In this case, the current care of souls must be entrusted to a vicar. 2) With an irremovable incumbent, if the incumbent cannot be removed except under specific conditions established by law and usually after a canonical trial; with a removable incumbent if removal occurs through a simpler procedure and even without a true crime; the CIC favors irremovability, as it is more consonant with the nature of the institution. 3) Secular, if entrusted to the secular clergy, or religious, if governed by religious. Almost always these parishes are incorporated *pleno iure* into a religious order; in case of doubt, the parish is presumed to belong to the secular clergy. 4) Territorial, if the jurisdiction of the parish priest extends over a portion of diocesan territory with defined boundaries and ordinary competence over all the faithful residing in that territory, or personal, if the power of the parish priest is limited to a certain number of families or individuals, who are united either by reason of language, common origin, or because they belong to the same rite. 5) Mother or filial, the former retaining honorary prerogatives over the latter, which derive from the mother parishes through an agreement or custom.

III. JURIDICAL NATURE

The elements of the parish are: the church, the ecclesiastical office, the territory, and the population. Among these, the church stands out, where worship is celebrated and the Sacraments are administered. Connected to the church is the ecclesiastical office, i.e., the complex of rights and duties exercised by the incumbent with ordinary power. The territory determines the jurisdiction of the parish and constitutes a clear delimitation of the population: this element was defined by the Council of Trent in its juridical relationships. However, even today there can be parishes that disregard territory. The parish is a juridical person; its formation involves three elements: the church, to which the spiritual and temporal rights of the parish pertain; the benefice, consisting of the revenues of church property or specific offerings that belong to the parish priest as remuneration for his work; and the fabbriceria, which is established for the maintenance and preservation of the church. In general, these three elements constitute a single moral person, but historically this union has not always existed; sometimes there were three distinct entities. The CIC assumes these three elements as a single juridical person. The fabbriceria (v. FABBRI, FABBRICERIA) is then considered rather as an organ of the parish than as a separate entity (can. 1183).

IV. ERECTION

The establishment of a parish *ex novo* occurs in territories belonging to no parish, which can practically only happen in mission lands; elsewhere, the creation of new parishes takes place through division or union of pre-existing parishes. Division involves the separation of part of the territory with the corresponding population from one parish to form a new one. This act was considered odious by the law and therefore required a proportionate cause (3, X, III, 48), which the Council of Trent found in the great inconvenience faced by the faithful in reaching the parish church to receive the Sacraments and attend functions; it also added another cause already found in the Glossa, namely the excessively large number of parishioners (sess. XXI, cap. 4). These two causes were accepted by the CIC (can. 1427 § 2). The apportionment of goods destined for the new parish must be done *ex bono et aequo*, without violating the will of founders, donors, and without infringing their rights or particular laws (can. 1500). The division of a parish falls within the competence of the capitular vicar and the vicar general (can. 1427). The union of parishes can take the following forms: extinguishing, when one or more parishes are suppressed to create a new one or when one or more parishes are united into a single one (can. 1419); *aequa principalis*, when two or more parishes are permanently entrusted to a single incumbent, although they retain their juridical personality (can. 460, 1); *minus principalis*, when a parish is united to another as an accessory to the principal and is under a single incumbent. The extinguishing union is reserved to the Holy See (can. 1422). Any kind of union is outside the competence of the capitular vicar and the vicar general without special mandate (can. 1423, 1).

Moreover, between the moral person and the parish, a twofold union can exist: *pleno iure*, when all the spiritual and temporal rights of the parish are transferred to the moral entity; *soltanto quando temporalia*, when the revenues also go to the moral entity, while the spiritual rights remain with the parish independently of the entity. The *pleno iure* union can only be authorized by the Holy See (can. 452, 1).

The innovation of the parish occurs through the transfer of its seat or the transformation from removable to irremovable (can. 254, 3).