Everyday Catholicism

[tir_synni]

All right, in my story, the main character is a lapsed Catholic trying to get back into it in his new hometown. It's in a West Virginia, USA town, relatively small population, and as I don't have much of a Catholic background, I was hoping for some details: What are the typical hours for a Catholic Church, like, access-wise? Are there typical hours

Comments

[generationlol]

Since your church is in a small town, it's likely to be rather small itself, and the priest or priests would probably be pretty easy to see and speak to. I know my mother used to make appointments to speak with our pastor when she had something specific to discuss with him, and we went to a pretty big church and he stayed fairly busy. Also, these days, your MC may be able to email the priest with inquiries or asking for a meeting. I know my pastor's email address is on our website.

Regular hours are usually pretty close to regular business hours for the church office, but the sanctuary itself may be available much more often. That may be more likely if the church is in a pretty small town (as yours is) or particularly tight-knit community that doesn't have much to fear in terms of crime.

Like others have said, Confession is generally scheduled for Saturdays, usually just before or just after Mass.

In general, I'd say new people are welcomed warmly. However, depending on the character of your small town, the church members may be very close or wary of outsiders. That really depends on the town more than the church itself, however. If he was generally polite and made an effort, I'd say others would do the same and he would fit in easily.

As far as becoming a member, he wouldn't necessarily have to do anything unless he wants to get his name on the official list of parishoners. Also, if he's a lapsed Catholic and hasn't been taking communion/attending Mass, he's may want to speak to a priest or deacon about his reentry before he begins regularly doing those things again. This really depends on how devout/traditional he is.