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''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
" or "civil parish", is the third-level
administrative subdivision Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
jurisdictions in the former Portuguese overseas territories of
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
and
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
(until 2001). In the past, was also an administrative division of the other Portuguese overseas territories. The ''
parroquia ''Parroquia'' (, , pl. ''parroquias''; , pl. ''parroquies'') or ''Parròquia'' (, pl. ''parròquies'') is a term equivalent to the English Parish; used in Andorra, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and some parts of northwestern Spain. It can be found i ...
'' in the Spanish autonomous communities of Galicia and Asturias is similar to a ''freguesia''. A ''freguesia'' is a subdivision of a ''
município ' (, ) and ' () are country subdivisions in Italy and several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or ...
'' (municipality). Most often, a parish takes the name of its seat, which is usually the most important (or the single) human agglomeration within its area, which can be a neighbourhood or city district, a group of hamlets, a village, a town or an entire city. In cases where the seat is itself divided into more than one parish, each one takes the name of a landmark within its area or of the patron saint from the usually coterminous
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
parish (''paróquia'' in Portuguese). Be it a city district or village, the civil parish is often based on an ecclesiastical parish. Since the creation of a democratic local administration, in 1976, the Portuguese parishes have been ruled by a system composed by an executive body (the '' junta de freguesia'', "parish board/council") and a deliberative body (the '' assembleia de freguesia'', "parish assembly"). The members of the ''assembleia de freguesia'' are publicly elected every four years. The presidents of the parish boards are also members of the municipal assembly.


History

The parish, in contrast with the municipalities, had their base in the ecclesiastical divisions that ''"had its origin in the fact that neighbours professed the same religion and professed their faith and divinity in the same temple"''. ''Freguesia'', the traditional Portuguese word for parish, had its beginning in the ''filius ecclesiae'' (child of the church) and ''filius gregis'' (child of the shepherds's flock), the collectivity of the religious faithful, with similar aspirations and interests. Between 1216 and 1223,
Afonso II of Portugal Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
began a process of legitimizing the Portuguese territory by conferring charters to nobles, clergy and municipal chambers (which would not be completed until after 1249, under
Afonso III of Portugal Afonso III (; rare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse''), or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin), the Boulonnais ( Port. ''o Bolonhês''), King of Portugal ( ...
), making the parish the smallest division. But, the power of the clergy built these areas, accumulating immense wealth and power. The liberal government of
Mouzinho da Silveira José Xavier Mouzinho da Silveira (12 July 1780 in Castelo de Vide – 4 April 1849 in Lisbon) was a Portuguese statesman, jurist and politician, as well as one of the most important personalities of the Liberal Revolution of 1820, responsible for ...
abolished the parishes in 1832, but the government of
Manuel da Silva Passos Manuel da Silva Passos (5 January 1801 – 16 January 1862) was a Portuguese jurist and politician, one of the most notable personalities of 19th-century Portuguese Liberalism. He is more commonly referred to as Passos Manuel, due to the way he ...
restored them in 1836. The ''freguesia'' began to refer to the civil/administrative entity, while the ''paróquia'' ( lat, parochia) became affiliated with the religious entity.


Present situation


Portugal

Before the 2013 local government reforms, the 308 municipalities were subdivided into 4,259 civil parishes.Data of the Official Administrative Charter of Portugal, 2011
/ref> In 2011, after more than two weeks of bailout negotiations in light of the
sovereign debt crisis A sovereign default is the failure or refusal of the government of a sovereign state to pay back its debt in full when due. Cessation of due payments (or receivables) may either be accompanied by that government's formal declaration that it wi ...
with the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
, the
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...
and the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
, the Portuguese government was obliged to reduce the number of municipal and parish local governments after July 2012. The government of
Pedro Passos Coelho Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho (; born 24 July 1964) is a Portuguese politician and university guest lecturer who was the 118th prime minister of Portugal, in office from 2011 to 2015. He was the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) b ...
introduced a plan to reform the administrative divisions, claiming it would create efficiencies and save money. The plan envisioned the reform of the management, territorial geography and political form of how Portugal functioned at the local level, including specifically at the ''freguesia'' and ''
concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal a ...
'' levels. It was determined that these changes would then be formalized before the 2013 local government elections, as part of a process to reduce expenditures, a condition of the $110 Billion accord. In addition to the reduction of the number of representatives in the local boards, the plan also established criteria for the reduction, amalgamation or extinction of various civil parishes. The reform was implemented according to Law 11-A/2013 of 28 January 2013, which defined the reorganization of the civil parishes, This way, the number of parishes was reduced from 4,259 to 3,091. Municipalities in Portugal are usually divided into multiple ''freguesias'', but seven municipalities are not:
Alpiarça Alpiarça () is a municipality in Santarém District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,702, in an area of 95.36 km2. The present Mayor is Mário Fernando Pereira and the President of the Municipal Assembly is Mario Santiago. The munic ...
,
Barrancos Barrancos ( Barranquenho: ''Barrancu'') is a town and a municipality in Portugal. With a population of 1,834 in 2011, it is the least populated municipality in mainland Portugal. Its area is 168.42 km2. The municipality is composed of one pa ...
,
Castanheira de Pera Castanheira de Pera (), often erroneously written Castanheira de Pêra, is a municipality in the district of Leiria in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,191,Porto Santo Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe and Africa. The muni ...
,
São Brás de Alportel São Brás de Alportel () is a town and municipality in the District of Faro, Algarve region, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 10,662, in an area of 153.37 km². The present Mayor is Vítor Guerreiro, elected by the Socialist Party. Th ...
and
São João da Madeira São João da Madeira (), is a city and a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality in northwestern region of the Portugal, Portuguese Norte Region, Portugal, Norte region. It's part of the larger Porto Metropolitan Area, located 30 k ...
all consist of a single civil parish, and Corvo is a special case of a municipality without civil parishes, where all usual parish duties and functions are performed by the municipality directly. Barcelos is the municipality with the most civil parishes (61, since 2013). Portugal has no
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
s; all the national territory (apart from the above-mentioned example of Corvo) belongs to a civil parish, including uninhabited islands:
Selvagens Islands The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( pt, Ilhas Selvagens ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira, and north of the Canary Islands.
to , and
Berlengas The Berlengas are a Portuguese archipelago consisting of small Atlantic islands off the coast of Peniche, Portugal, in the Oeste region. These islands were traditionally known to British mariners as "the Burlings". The only inhabited island is ...
to Peniche,
Desertas Islands The Desertas Islands ( pt, Ilhas Desertas, , "Deserted Islands") are a small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the larger Portuguese Madeira Archipelago. The archipelago is located off the coast of Morocco. Deserta Grande Island is loc ...
to Santa Cruz, and
Formigas Islets The Formigas Islets ( pt, Ilhéus das Formigas ; literally, ''Islets of the Ants''), sometimes referred to as the Formigas Bank, are a group of uninhabited rocky outcroppings in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago, an autonomous region ...
to
Vila do Porto Vila do Porto (; "Port Town") is the single concelho, municipality, the name of the main town and one of the Vila do Porto (parish), civil parishes on the island of Santa Maria Island, Santa Maria, in the Portugal, Portuguese archipelago of Azor ...
, in the municipalities with the same name (except for Sé, which belongs to
Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of ...
).


Cape Verde

Of
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
's 22
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
, which form the highest level of sub-national government in the small African state, some but not all are subdivided into parishes. There are 32 parishes in the country.


Macau

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
is an autonomous Special administrative region in
Southern China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
that was historically a part of the
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
until the
Handover of Macao The transfer of sovereignty of Macau (; pt, Transferência da soberania de Macau) from Portugal to the People's Republic of China (PRC) occurred on 20 December 1999. Macau was settled by Portuguese merchants in 1557, during the Ming dynasty ...
in 1999. During the period of Portuguese rule it was divided into two
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
which were subdivided into a total of seven parishes. In 2001 the municipalities were dissolved and their administrative functions transferred to the
Municipal Affairs Bureau The Municipal Affairs Bureau (; pt, Instituto para os Assuntos Municipais) of Macau is an administrative body without political powers responsible for providing certain civic services for the special administrative region and is the successor ...
. The parishes were legally retained but no longer serve an administrative function.


See also

*
List of parishes of Portugal The 3092 freguesias of Portugal are listed In alphabetic groups (determined by a freguesia's first letter) in the template below. They are listed according to the following format: * Municipality ** Freguesia A complete and unbroken list of freg ...
(''freguesias'') *
Bairro A ''bairro'' () is a Portuguese language, Portuguese word for a Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter or a neighborhood or, sometimes, a district which is within a city or town. It is commonly used in Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, ...
*
Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau The Municipal Affairs Bureau (; pt, Instituto para os Assuntos Municipais) of Macau is an administrative body without political powers responsible for providing certain civic services for the special administrative region and is the successor ...
– replaced the former municipal councils during
Portuguese rule The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas Colonialism, colonies, Factory ...
of
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, but retain the ''freguesias'' model


References


Bibliography

* {{Portuguese terms for country subdivisions Local government in Portugal * . Geography of Cape Verde Geography of Macau Politics of Portugal
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
Civil parishes by country