Most diocesan priests are parish priests.
They celebrate Mass on Sundays and during the week with their people, hear their confessions, anoint them when they are sick, baptize, marry and bury them. They preach the Word of God from the pulpit and teach it in classrooms and discussion groups. They listen to their people's joys and sorrows and often take the initiative to promote works of charity and justice. They may work with groups of the elderly, with teen or young adult groups and with parents. A diocesan priest may also work full-time with the patients and staff of a hospital or with students in a high school or college as chaplain or teacher.