I thought it worth noting an interesting update to Church statistics on the Website for the Center for Applied Research (CARA) comparing data from 1965 - 2013. While the overall number of priests in the U.S. is still down 19,000 over that period of time, there is reason to be hopeful. In 2013 there were 511 priestly ordinations - the Church in the U.S. has not seen that many ordinations since 1995. Is it a trend? Maybe too early to call it that officially, but I think it shows what I believe to be happening in the vocation office - growth for the future.
Another stat which can be used to point to the potential growth in the number of Catholic priests in the U.S. is the number of graduate level seminarians. Currently there are 3,694 graduate level seminarians which is an amount that has not been seen in the U.S. since before 1995.
Maybe there is hope that one day the Catholic Church will be present in every county of the USA. Are you being called to help us with that effort?
Another stat which can be used to point to the potential growth in the number of Catholic priests in the U.S. is the number of graduate level seminarians. Currently there are 3,694 graduate level seminarians which is an amount that has not been seen in the U.S. since before 1995.
Maybe there is hope that one day the Catholic Church will be present in every county of the USA. Are you being called to help us with that effort?
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