View source for Portal:Blog/Parish and Shrine Template Updates (January 2026)

{{Blog
|postTitle=Parish and Shrine Template Updates (January 2026)
|blog=Blog
|date=2026-01-20
|author=Tom
|tags=Cargo, Page Forms, Parish, Shrine, wiki improvement, data structure, infobox
|summary=Added Type/Classification, ShrineDesignation, OperatedBy links, infobox hyperlinks for Dedication/Diocese/Subdivision/Country, short "Website" labels, and fixed email duplication—all aligned with Canon Law and global usability.
}}
Over the past few weeks, we've made significant improvements to how parishes and shrines are structured, displayed, and navigated on Saintapedia. These changes build on our Cargo tables and Page Forms to make data more accurate, canonical, and user-friendly—especially for global coverage of Catholic sites.

==== Key Changes to '''Parish''' Template & Form ====

* '''New Type/Classification field''' (multi-select): Allows tagging parishes with canonical and honorary types such as Territorial Parish, Personal Parish, Mission/Quasi-Parish, Cathedral, Basilica (Minor), Basilica (Major/Papal), Shrine, Religious Order Parish, Co-Cathedral. Defaults to "Territorial Parish" for ordinary entries.
* '''Non-Parochial flag''' (boolean): Flags sites like major papal basilicas (e.g., San Giovanni in Laterano) that don't serve a defined local parish community.
* '''Operated By''' (Page link): Links directly to religious order pages (e.g., [[Society of Jesus]]), with fallback display "Diocesan clergy".
* '''Clickable links''' added to infobox fields: Dedication, Diocese, AdministrativeSubdivision, Country, and Operated By now link to their respective pages for better navigation.
* '''Website display''' simplified: Shows a short "Website" label instead of repeating the full URL.
* '''Email display''' cleaned up: Single clickable mailto: link with "None specified" fallback (no more duplication).
* Dynamic categories for Type (Basilica, Cathedral, Shrine) are temporarily commented out while we resolve a parser error, but can be re-enabled with a more robust approach later.

These updates make parish entries more flexible for hybrids (e.g., parish + shrine or cathedral + basilica) and easier to navigate globally.

==== Key Changes to '''Shrine''' Template ====

* '''ShrineDesignation field''' added (String): Canonical levels per Canon Law — Diocesan Shrine, National Shrine, International Shrine. Displays "Not formally designated" if blank. Auto-categorizes into matching categories (e.g., [[Category:National Shrine]]).
* '''PilgrimageNotes''' deliberately omitted from Cargo: Any additional pilgrimage/devotion details belong in the article text (free text, Description, or PilgrimageInfo section) rather than structured data.
* Infobox placement: Designation appears after Established for logical flow.

These keep the Shrines table focused on core devotional and canonical info while allowing rich narrative in the page body.

==== Why These Changes? ====
The goal is fidelity to Catholic Canon Law (e.g., territorial vs. personal parishes, shrine designations under cc. 1230–1234), better handling of overlaps (parish-shrine hybrids, non-parochial basilicas), and improved usability for editors and readers worldwide. No data loss—existing entries simply gain new optional fields.

Next steps: Update Form:Shrine to include ShrineDesignation, test hybrids (e.g., National Shrine that functions as a parish), and potentially re-enable dynamic categories once parser stability is confirmed.

Feedback welcome—feel free to suggest refinements or report issues on talk pages!

[[Category:Blog]] [[Category:Wiki improvement]] [[Category:Cargo]] [[Category:Page Forms]] [[Category:Parish]] [[Category:Shrine]]