> Last year there was an average of one priest per parish. Welcome to 1950.<
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But aren’t there fewer parishes today than there were in 1950 when so many parishes have closed their doors since then?
The number is in flux as people move around.
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.
Bingo! The whole article is a “straw man”.