Legal Definitions - parish

An area served by a particular church or an ecclesiastical district is called a parish. In Louisiana, a parish is also a government sub-unit, which is equivalent to a county. It governs a portion of the state, and some of the state's power is delegated to the parish.

• St. Mary's Parish is a Catholic church that serves the local community.
• Jefferson Parish is a government sub-unit in Louisiana that administers the governance of a portion of the state.

The examples illustrate that a parish can refer to both a religious and a governmental entity. In the first example, St. Mary's Parish is a religious district served by a Catholic church. In the second example, Jefferson Parish is a government sub-unit that administers the governance of a portion of the state.