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Welcome to 1950! A Surprising Statistic About the Number of Priests per parish
Archdiocese of Washington ^ | August 15, 2013 | Msgr. Charles Pope

Posted on 08/16/2013 2:28:58 PM PDT by NYer

It is a common notion that the number of priests has plummeted in this country. Many speak of the halcyon days when there were four and five priests per parish, and the seminaries were packed. And while some of these memories are accurate, they are drawn from a time in this country that was very brief.

The fact is, the number of priests per parish spiked sharply after 1950 and has now leveled back to the levels of 1950 and before.

Note the graph at the upper right from the Center for Research in the Apostolate (CARA). It depicts the number of priests per parish. In 1950 there was an average of one priest per parish. Last year there was an average of one priest per parish. Welcome to 1950.

Mark Gray, writing at the CARA blog says:

There was about one active diocesan priest per parish then as there is now. The late 1950s into the 1970s represent an exceptional period in American history when there were significantly more active diocesan priests available than there were parishes. Age and mortality has and continues to diminish the size of the diocesan clergy population. Although ordinations have remained stable for decades, these are not sufficient to make up for the number of priests lost each year to retirement or death. [1]

Frankly, even in the glory days, America did not produce the number of priests we need to fill our needs. Back in the 1950s through the 1970s a tremendous number of FBI (foreign born Irish) priests were enlisted to meet American needs. My own diocese had a large number of them brought in, beginning in the 1950s.

Many ethnic groups in the Urban North also brought large numbers of priests to serve them from overseas. Today there are many dioceses that rely on Nigeria and other booming Catholic countries to supply extra priests.

It is true, most American Seminaries were bursting at the seams especially after World War II. But that boom would seem to be as short as it was impressive. Here on the East Coast, Roland Park in Baltimore and St. Charles Borromeo in Philadelphia had more than 500 seminarians in mammoth buildings that looked like Versailles as you drove up.

But as the graph shows, the spike was sudden and has settled back to the more common US experience of about one priest per parish. Again, according to the CARA study:

Nearly one in five U.S. parishes do not have a resident priest pastor. Seven in ten have a diocesan priest serving in this capacity and religious priests serve as resident pastors in 11% of parishes. In 17% of parishes a priest is serving as a non-resident pastor…in 2.5% of all parishes, due to a shortage of priests, a deacon or lay person is entrusted with the pastoral care of a parish…[who]….must still do their best to arrange for priests to be available for Masses and other sacraments.

Priests cannot be in two places at once and there are only so many hours in a Sunday. We have a good understanding of how many parishes there are in the United States and how many priests are available. The map below (click for full size) shows the number of active diocesan priests subtracted from number of parishes in each diocese…. In 60% of dioceses, those marked in yellow and red, there is no surplus of diocesan priests active in ministry relative to the number of parishes in the diocese. The green areas on the map have more active diocesan priests than parishes. [2]

There is more that can be read at the CARA blog that analyzes these numbers more deeply. But data like this reminds us that our knowledge of history is at time inaccurate since it is based on a rather narrow sliver of our own experience. That the Catholic Church in America grew enormously in the first half of the 20th century is indisputable. This was due to large waves of immigrants from Catholic Countries in Europe that were in one crisis after another. But even at the center point of that remarkable period of Catholic growth, the number of priests per parish was not so high as we remember, and even after it spiked (nearly doubled) between 1950 and 1960, it did not last, and a long leveling back to our current numbers has restored us to the mid century mark.

And yet, 1950, would be a year most Catholics think of being a high water mark. It was not, at least in terms of the number of priests per parish. Yes, welcome to 1950.


THE LIFE OF A CATHOLIC PRIEST - And The World Looks At Us - YouTube Video - - A beautiful, in depth look at the traditional understanding of the Catholic priesthood and the priestly vocation.


TOPICS: Catholic; History; Ministry/Outreach; Worship
KEYWORDS: 1950; cara; catholic; church; churches; msgrcharlespope; ordination; parish; priest; priesthood; priests; seminarians; seminaries; vocations

1 posted on 08/16/2013 2:28:58 PM PDT by NYer
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To: netmilsmom; thefrankbaum; Tax-chick; GregB; saradippity; Berlin_Freeper; Litany; SumProVita; ...
Apparently, this post received a large volume of comments.

Msgr. Charles Pope says:
August 15, 2013 at 8:00 pm

I have to say as prelude to the comments that follow, I am surprised at the fire storm I seem to have created! Many seem to presume I am making light of the current decline by citing them. I am not and have blogged too much of the need for reform and evangelization for people to conclude this. Hence I must conclude that the commenters who conclude this about me either don’t read here often, don’t know me, or are just doing a knee-jerk reaction that is anxious of any data that doesn’t support some narrative they have.

My real point here in quoting the stats is just that I find them interesting and that they provide a perspective. As I state in the article, the first half of the 20th century was a period of explosive growth for the Church. But even in 1950 the number of priests overall was not as high as many of us remember. There are probably a lot of reasons for this, including the number of ethnic parishes, and the degree of Catholics in rural areas, etc. Clearly after 1950 the number spiked, almost doubling in number by 1960. And then began a steady decline.

That is all. I surely do not “celebrate” or “excuse” the decline as some of the commentors who follow suggest I do. That is crazy. I want the Church to keep growing and burst at the seams. However we do well to keep perspective, lest we lose heart, that the Church has had spikes and declines, but God is with us and the Church is indefectible. We need to work, but we need to trust God. There are many causes for the decline. Doing the “blame game” doesn’t help that much, especially in the complicated landscape of modern “culture” But we’ve got God and that ain’t bad odds!

Perhaps all of us try to be a little more encouraging than blaming. We’re on the same team and our internal bickering and blaming takes our eye of the ball and our opponent, the devil gets yardage. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the higher realms.(Eph 6:12)

2 posted on 08/16/2013 2:29:28 PM PDT by NYer ( "Run from places of sin as from the plague."--St John Climacus)
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To: NYer

Clearly, we needed change in the church.

/sarcasm.


3 posted on 08/16/2013 2:30:13 PM PDT by piusv
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To: NYer

Well, my modest parish, probably about a quarter of the size of a typical suburban parish, has three priests.

But, then again, it only offers the traditional latin mass.


4 posted on 08/16/2013 2:32:15 PM PDT by jtal (Runnin' a World in Need with White Folks' Greed - since 1492)
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To: jtal
Well, my modest parish, probably about a quarter of the size of a typical suburban parish, has three priests. But, then again, it only offers the traditional latin mass.

It's a shame, isn't it?


5 posted on 08/16/2013 4:21:09 PM PDT by MarkBsnr (I would not believe in the Gospel, if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so.)
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To: NYer

> Last year there was an average of one priest per parish. Welcome to 1950.<

.
But aren’t there fewer parishes today than there were in 1950 when so many parishes have closed their doors since then?


6 posted on 08/16/2013 4:34:09 PM PDT by 353FMG ( I do not say whether I am serious or sarcastic -- I respect FReepers too much.)
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To: jtal

Oooooooh, you lucky you with the Latin Mass.


7 posted on 08/16/2013 4:35:42 PM PDT by 353FMG ( I do not say whether I am serious or sarcastic -- I respect FReepers too much.)
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To: 353FMG

The number is in flux as people move around.


8 posted on 08/16/2013 4:52:36 PM PDT by AceMineral (One day the people will beg for chains.)
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To: 353FMG

My first thought exactly. I am from Pittsburgh. I no longer live there but get back frequently and have many friends and relatives there. Over the last three decades, many, many parishes there have been closed. Many parishes have been consolidated. The parish I grew up in is now a consolidated parish of 4-5 closed parishes. My home town, which once boasted a dozen Catholic elementary schools, now has none. This, of course, is largely the result of the shutdown of area steel mills and the many people like me who left the PGH area during the 70s-80s for better job opportunities.

Last May, the Pittsburgh diocese ordained one priest. In the late 60s, they ordained about 90 priests annually.


9 posted on 08/16/2013 5:00:49 PM PDT by huckfillary (qual tyo ta)
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To: NYer

Dear New Yorker,

I do not know if you recall my post to you sometime back regarding St. John Vianney seminary on the campus of St. Thomas University in MN. My parents just had lunch with a seminarian-deacon they have supproted who is to be ordained in June 2014 for the Diocese of St. Cloud. He stated that that seminary is now at capacity, with 250 seminarians.

The St.Paul/Minneapolis seminary (same campus, different seminary) was also full about two years ago with 100 seminarians. They now have over 100, with some students living off-campus as their facilities are full. This spring they ordained 10 priests and 5 provisional deacons.

These seminaries are known for their orthodoxy and faithfulness to the Magisterium. This is, in my opinion, the reason for their astounding success. If you have ever read Michael Brown’s book, “Good-bye, Good Men” you would have a pretty clear insight as to why there was a dramatic drop-off in vocations.


10 posted on 08/16/2013 8:45:46 PM PDT by stisidore (Hello again)
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To: NYer

Oddly enough, the calander this year matches the calander from 1957.


11 posted on 08/17/2013 3:23:10 AM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: 353FMG

Bingo! The whole article is a “straw man”.


12 posted on 08/17/2013 3:46:23 PM PDT by ebb tide
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To: ebb tide

And yet, plenty of vocations entering religious orders. Monasteries are filled.

It is just the diocesan priests that are short in numbers.


13 posted on 08/17/2013 5:47:27 PM PDT by 353FMG ( I do not say whether I am serious or sarcastic -- I respect FReepers too much.)
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To: huckfillary

Tomorrow we’re driving to Pittsburgh for the Latin Mass at St. Boniface. I went to ST. Joe’s Catholic School in Coraopolis from 1st thru 3rd grades. Unfortunately, it closed two years ago. Sad.


14 posted on 04/12/2014 4:09:03 PM PDT by sneakers
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