A parish in Mexico City in the context of modernity.

From the Second Vatican Council to Laudato si

Abstract

This article presents ideas related to the validity of the parish as the institutional place of ecclesial identification through which Christian life is developed, in Mexico City, in the contexts of modern culture. The reference taken is a parish which was founded around the 1960s, precisely when the universal Catholic Church made many changes. The reference parish is located in a colony also founded in those times, in an area of the northeast of the Mexican capital. Some characteristics experienced by the study parish throughout its history are mentioned, along with some evidence of its adaptation to urban and modern life, thus reflecting how the said ecclesial entity accommodates itself to coexist with the modern culture, which is expressed through the organization of community groups of a parochial type, made up of laity, along with the administration of the diversity of Catholic beliefs, with tendencies towards individualization. It is also indicated that, at least since the time of the Second Vatican Council, the lay person has become a highly dynamic actor attempting to make sense of his beliefs.