What is the standard length of assignments for Catholic priests in parishes? A priest at my parish is leaving next year. It seems that six years may be somewhat standard. Is six years a local, national (American), or worldwide time frame for any given priest in any given Catholic parish? Excluding the bishops and deacons. Our pastor is there for 12 years; I would guess this "double-term" is particular for pastors in larger parishes but again I am not sure.
Canon Law permits a particular conference of bishops to establish guidelines for the length of pastor appointments. But being guidelines, a bishop may make adjustments according to the needs of a particular diocese, parish or even the  priest in question.


  Do priests have term limits?
  
  Not exactly. Canon (church) law permits a conference of bishops to establish guidelines for the length of pastor appointments. In the United States, that term is six years, renewable for another six years. A pastor may be moved prior to that time, or may be kept on longer, depending on the bishop’s assessment of the pastoral needs within the parish and diocesan-wide. - Clergy Appointments