Quick Catholic Question

jallenecs · Jan 30, 2012

This is a really simple question, but I have no idea where to look to find the answer.

The priest in charge conducts services at a Catholic church. What happens if he's sick, or absent (or secretly carried off by monsters, heh heh heh)? Who would conduct the services then? What if they're gone, too? Do they just close the church until he gets better/turns up again?

Williebee · Jan 30, 2012

I think you're going to need to specify the size and location of the church. How it would play out in "East Nowhere" isn't how it would play out in New York City, for example.

boron · Jan 30, 2012

They are often two or more priests in one church. Or they call a priest from a near church or monastery.

jallenecs · Jan 30, 2012

Williebee said:
I think you're going to need to specify the size and location of the church. How it would play out in "East Nowhere" isn't how it would play out in New York City, for example.

This would definitely be in East Nowhere. Tiny church in a tiny isolated community.

Devil Ledbetter · Jan 30, 2012

I'd think another priest from the same diocese would conduct mass, unless as Williebee mentioned there wasn't one nearby.

Devil, the ex-Catholic.

shaldna · Jan 30, 2012

The churches around us all have a couple of priests, although the one at my daughters school only has the one priest (who is one of the famous singing priests btw) When he's not there someone else from another church comes in.

thothguard51 · Jan 30, 2012

The Roman Catholic Church has been closing up lots of small churches in the U.S, due to dwindling attendance and budgets. If the church is so small as to only have 1 priest, I think it would be closed up.

Larger parrishes will have more than one priest to conduct services and they have services everyday and 4 or 5 times on Sundays so the priest will alternate duties...

Smiling Ted · Jan 30, 2012

The Roman Catholic church has seven "sacraments," including baptism, the offering of the Eucharist, confession and marriage. These sacraments are considered to be more than prayers; they are the imparting of different forms of divine grace to the recipient, and only certain ordained officers of the church (e.g. bishops) can do them.

As for which officer can perform which sacrament, look here.

If a priest has been carried off by a monster, a layperson can't offer the sacraments in his place; I imagine that the members of that particular church would contact the local bishop and ask for a priest to offer the sacraments on a temporary basis until a new priest can be found.

jallenecs · Jan 30, 2012

Devil Ledbetter said:
I'd think another priest from the same diocese would conduct mass, unless as Williebee mentioned there wasn't one nearby.

Devil, the ex-Catholic.

So, say my priest, a good and godly man, was carried off by monsters. His disappearance has been hushed up, so the police haven't investigated. The people at the church (the guys who are helping the monster) said they asked for a replacement from the diocese, but didn't.....

It would not be beyond the realm of possibility for services to be "delayed temporarily, while we wait for the replacement"?

jallenecs · Jan 30, 2012

Smiling Ted said:
The Roman Catholic church has seven "sacraments," including baptism, the offering of the Eucharist, confession and marriage. These sacraments are considered to be more than prayers; they are the imparting of different forms of divine grace to the recipient, and only certain ordained officers of the church (e.g. bishops) can do them.

As for which officer can perform which sacrament, look here.

If a priest has been carried off by a monster, a layperson can't offer the sacraments in his place; I imagine that the members of that particular church would contact the local bishop and ask for a priest to offer the sacraments on a temporary basis until a new priest can be found.

This was VERY helpful, and opens up some fun plot possibilities! Thanks!

Gilroy Cullen · Jan 30, 2012

jallenecs said:
The priest in charge conducts services at a Catholic church. What happens if he's sick, or absent (or secretly carried off by monsters, heh heh heh)? Who would conduct the services then? What if they're gone, too? Do they just close the church until he gets better/turns up again?

This would depend on the actual service in question.

For daily mass, a deacon can perform the duties of a priest for temporary measure, though if the priest is gone for more than three days, I am sure that the bishop of the region will have a contact about a stand in until such times as the other priest reappears.

This might differ depending on the location, as some archdioceses have different protocols depending on circumstances.

Standard for most churches in my area are one priest, one or two deacons, and a handful of laypeople to assist with the day to day operations of the church.

Gilroy Cullen · Jan 30, 2012

thothguard51 said:
The Roman Catholic Church has been closing up lots of small churches in the U.S, due to dwindling attendance and budgets. If the church is so small as to only have 1 priest, I think it would be closed up.

Unfortunately, they have a second problem in addition to those two. Lack of priests. So many chuches that might support two or more priests now have one.

My childhood church used to have three. Same number of families, same size "service" area, but only one priest now.

Drachen Jager · Jan 30, 2012

I know that in small towns in Germany one priest will usually service several villages. However they're never more than a short drive from a larger center, so if the priest came down with something (or was carried off by monsters) a replacement would just take over.

The Grift · Jan 30, 2012

A Deacon could do it.

amergina · Jan 30, 2012

If there's consecrated Eucharist, a lay person can hold a communion service. It's not a Mass, and it's generally frowned upon to do this on a Sunday.

But the Church is pretty organized, so if a priest was carried off by monsters, they'd sent a temp. If they didn't, the parishioners would probably raise a stink. There's a lot of administrative stuff that's done by the layity in a parish, so they'd notice the absence of the Father pretty quick. And get on the horn to the bishop. Practicing Catholics now-a-days are... um... well, not meek and timid.

There are monastic orders that include priests (like the Franciscans) and they often fill in when diocesan priests are in short supply.

amergina · Jan 30, 2012

The Grift said:
A Deacon could do it.

Except a deacon can't consecrate the bread and wine. Only a priest can do that. So there could be a service (and communion could be distributed, if there were consecrated Eucharist held in reserve), but it wouldn't be a Mass.

Calla Lily · Jan 30, 2012

Um... one of the monsters puts on a priest meatsuit and says he's the replacement?

So many evil possibilities there. :evil

citymouse · Jan 30, 2012

Only a priest can consecrate the host. Lay persons may distribute the host. In extreme circumstances, a lay person may baptize an adult. That is rare, however.
But all this is moot. The validity of the sacrament(s) is wholly dependent on the disposition of the recipient(s), meaning the recipient(s) must be in a state of grace--without what is considered a mortal sin. Ergo, if the good congregation is in cahoots with the evil monster, they surely don't need a priest. Even if an unsuspecting bishop, who'd be responsible for sending / approving a replacement albeit temporary, finds a priest, the priest's sacrament(s) would be invalid, except for those who were not in league with the evil doers. This would include the Eucharist given by a lay person.
You see, it's all very simple and straight forward.

frimble3 · Jan 30, 2012

callalily61 said:
Um... one of the monsters puts on a priest meatsuit and says he's the replacement?

So many evil possibilities there.

Yep. If someone/thing comes in, looks like a priest, talks like a priest, etc, who's going to question him? Until he does something strange and some busy-body starts asking questions, and checking his background.

GeorgeK · Jan 31, 2012

A Deacon can celebrate mass (not called services) except for the consecration and transfiguration of the Eucharist. In a protracted absence of the priest, he can make weekly trips or so to another parish and bring back and store the Eucharists for the local masses.I've seen it done, of course it was due to the priest's illness and not monsters.

It's my opinion that the Deaconate is underutilized and could solve many of the Catholic Church's problems. Allow women to be Deacons and allow them to conduct the sacraments. It would help with the shortage of priests. They are volunteer so don't need pay or housing. It would provide a measure of lay oversight and would make the church more approachable to the members...but they stopped caring about my opinion a long time ago.

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