𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐀 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐥 - A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type of these.

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 - Code of Canon Law 2179 "A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop." It is the place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in this celebration; it teaches Christ's saving doctrine; it practices the charity of the Lord in good works and brotherly love."

𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 - A shrine is a church or other sacred place where a relic is preserved, like the Shrine of St. Jude in Baltimore; where an apparition has taken place, like the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland or the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City; or an historical event of faith has taken place, like the Shrine of the Our Lady of the Martyrs in Auriesville, N.Y., where the early Jesuit missionaries were martyred.

𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐥 - The name “cathedral” is given to churches that are the “hub” of each diocese, where the bishop typically presides at important liturgies. The cathedral gets its name from the presence of the bishop’s chair, traditionally called the cathedra (Latin word for “chair”). The bishop sits on this chair when celebrating the Mass or other liturgical events at the cathedral.

𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚 - The term basilica was used to identify churches of historic and spiritual importance. Usually, these churches are built in the basilica style, but the key criterion is that they are places of historic and spiritual importance. The Holy Father officially designates a church as a "basilica." Basilicas are further classified into two groups: Major and Minor.

Major Basilicas include only those churches in Rome that have great historical significance. These include St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls. The second group is known as “minor basilicas.” These are more numerous, found in almost every country in the world. Local bishops petition Rome for one of their churches to be named a minor basilica; the church must be proven to have extraordinary beauty with a rich history behind it to be given the title.