This work is a revision and update of a study carried out in 1933 by Monsignor Patrick J. Dignan.    Dignan’s purpose in his study was to outline the history of how the Roman Catholic Church (the Church) secured laws for the protection of church property in accordance with the hierarchical nature of the Church.  The purpose of the present article is to bring up to date Dignan’s work and complete a survey of the law in its present state.  As a secondary purpose, the present article also provides legal reference librarians with a unified collection of the laws controlling Church property in the US.  The article analyzes the differences in the law since the original survey to determine if Dignan’s conclusion that the Church should operate to affect legislation in this field has had any effect.