Free tools for the parish office

Parish offices keep books that the law, the diocese or the IRS expects them to keep: the Mass intentions book, the sacramental registers, the Sunday count, the giving statements, the list of who has finished safe-environment training. Many keep them on paper or in a spreadsheet passed from one secretary to the next. These tools are free, open source and run in the browser, so nothing about your parishioners leaves the office computer.

Ready now: the Mass intentions book

Record intentions and offerings, list your Masses, book intentions into them, and see what is open, booked, said or passed on. The book checks the entries against canons 948 to 958: one offered intention per Mass, the one-year limit, offerings from a second Mass the same day, and transfers to other priests. It exports the register as a spreadsheet for the annual review.

Open the Mass intentions book · What canon law says, with a worked example

Who it is for: parish secretaries, pastors, business managers and rectors of churches that take Mass offerings. When to use something else: if your parish already keeps intentions in a parish management system your diocese provides, keep using it; this tool is for parishes keeping the book by hand.

Planned, in this order

  1. A Sunday collection count sheet for two counters, with mismatches shown before the bag is sealed.
  2. Year-end contribution statements with the IRS acknowledgment wording.
  3. Sacramental registers, certificates and notations to other parishes.
  4. A safe-environment training and background-check tracker.
  5. A scheduler for lectors, ministers, servers and ushers.
  6. A liturgical calendar with the moveable feasts.
  7. Religious education registration; the diocesan assessment; hall booking and the cemetery.

The detailed plan is in the roadmap. Most of it fits any congregation, not only Catholic parishes. For US ministers there is also a housing allowance calculator.

Questions

Is there free software for a parish office?

Yes. The Mass intentions book here is free and open source (MIT), runs in the browser and needs no account. More modules for the parish office follow the plan above.

Does parishioner information leave the computer?

No. The tools run in the browser and keep their data in that browser's local storage. Back the book up as a file; nothing is uploaded.

Is this only for Catholic parishes?

The Mass intentions book follows the Catholic Code of Canon Law. Most planned modules, such as collection counting, giving statements and volunteer scheduling, fit any congregation.