Paróquia

Paróquia is a term used in Portuguese-speaking areas to designate a territorial unit used by the Catholic Church to organize its communities. The word comes from Latin parochia, from Greek paroikía, meaning "neighborhood" or "parish," indicating the area served by a church, a chapel, and its pastor.

In ecclesiastical terms, a parish is the basic local unit of a diocese or archdiocese. It is defined by boundaries that may reflect historical communities and may comprise one or more churches or chapels. A parish is led by a pastor or priest and supported by lay parish staff and a parish council. Its responsibilities include celebrating the sacraments, catechesis, liturgy, religious education, pastoral care, and maintaining parish records such as baptisms and marriages.

In civil administration, paróquia refers to the smallest administrative subdivision in Portugal, where it is also called freguesia in everyday speech. A parish council (Junta de Freguesia) and an assembly manage local services, urban planning, maintenance of streets and public spaces, and cultural and social programs. Portugal’s parish system underwent reforms in the 2010s that reduced the number of parishes.

In Brazil and most other Lusophone countries, paróquia is predominantly an ecclesiastical jurisdiction; civil local government is organized around municipalities, districts, and other entities rather than parishes, though the term can appear in historical or religious contexts.