Worldwide baptisms fall over 15% in 6 years
October 21, 2024
The number of baptisms administered in the Church worldwide plunged from over 16 million in 2016 to 13,327,037 in 2022—a decline of 17% over six years, according to the appendix to statistics published by the Fides news agency (CWN coverage).
There were 18.1 million baptisms in 1991, 17,932,891 baptisms in 1998, and 18,408,076 baptisms in 2000. Between 2001 and 2016, the number of baptisms annually stood between 16 million and 18 million, falling slightly below 16 million only in 2015.
The decline in baptisms was particularly pronounced in 2020, the year of COVID-related lockdowns, but has continued steadily since then, from 14 million in 2020, to just over 13.7 million in 2021, to 13,327,037 in 2022.
The Church has also experienced an 11-year decline in the number of major seminarians—a decline particularly pronounced since the end of 2019.
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