Do modern Catholic priests and other church elders still reside in a rectoryon church grounds, or do they own their own houses & apartments in the community? I’m thinking of a modern urban location here, such as Los Angeles.
Every parish that I know of in NYC has a rectory with one or more priests in residence.
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Yes. In every parish I have ever encountered, in both urban and suburban centers, in small neighbourhood parishes and large cathedrals, priests live in a rectory on the church grounds. On occasion it is attached to the church, sometimes it is not. If the church is large enough to support multiple priests, it is common for them to live together in the house. Each usually has a suite of rooms and share a common area.
It’s not universal, though. In my parish, the priest lives in a condo, and the old rectory building is just used for office space. And I don’t think the other parish (a Newman parish serving the campus) has a rectory at all.
My great-uncle lived in a house right beside the church, that was owned by the church. My Nana visits the priests who live across the street from her (she often drops by to feed them when she has extra baking) and the church is also right next door. IIRC the church from my childhood had a house next door also, again for the priests to live in.
Mind you these are all small towns, I imagine the ones in the city have a similar setup though if the church is inner city they may or may not have lodging quite so close. I can’t recall seeing a house very close to the churches downtown here, nor where I used to live.
Also, the church provides the housing for them they don’t own a house of their own. Even now my uncle, who is retired and nearly 90, lives in a building which is owned by the church and full of retired priests.
Most live in rectory’s ( rectories?)
Fun useless story: My mom use to volunteer at a catholic nursing home. During the Mass, the place is loaded with old folks in wheel chairs. The visiting priest does his thing and during the service, the retired not-all-there 90+ year old priest just starts BELTING out his own part when the other priest was doing his bit. I guess when you work every weekend for 60+ years, you can do it during your last, drooly phase of life.
It was kinda funny and kinda sad too.
Most churches that I know of have some type of parish house or apartment for their clergyperson, regardless of denomination.
Thanks for the answers so far.
In a large city, would the clergy from several churches reside at a single location in the parish, or would they be more likely to have individual longings at (or near) the church where they’re assigned?
Can I mention the juxtaposition of the OP location and the question being asked?