Large American dioceses failing to replace aging priests, study shows
January 31, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: None of the largest Catholic dioceses and archdioceses in the US has ordained enough priests to replace the older priests now in ministry, a new study shows.
The report on The State of Priestly Vocations in the United States, prepared by the Vocations Ministry, finds that only 16 American dioceses—none of them serving more than 750,000 faithful—have enjoyed a sufficient number of priestly ordinations between 2013 and 2023 to maintain a “replacement level.”
The Diocese of Wichita tops the list of success stories, having ordained a stunning 255% of the priests needed to maintain replacement level. The dioceses of Nashville (170%), Springfield, Illinois (160%), Kansas City, Missouri (150%), and Little Rock (143%) follow.
Among larger dioceses, on the other hand, New York has ordained only 23% of the figure required for replacement level; Phoenix 23%; San Diego 24%.
The study by the Vocation MInistry points to an overall rising trend in the ratio of American parishioners to available priests. At the same time, ominously, the study finds that the number of priestly ordinations seems to decline “when the diocesan average of the number of Catholics a priest serves exceeds 1,800.”
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