Is There a Priest Shortage?
- VATICAN YEARBOOK
The number of seminarians worldwide has grown 73 percent during the pontificate of John Paul II. In 1978, there were 64,000 seminarians compared to more than 110,500 in 2000.
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The number of seminarians worldwide has grown 73 percent during the pontificate of John Paul II. In 1978, there were 64,000 seminarians compared to more than 110,500 in 2000. The greatest increases were in Africa, where the number tripled; and Asia, which showed an increase of 125 percent.
As of 2000, the worldwide number of priests in active ministry increased by 189 over the previous year. This brought the total to 405,000 priests, which reflects an overall increase of nearly 800 diocesan priests, and a decrease of 600 religious priests.
Baptized Catholics represent 17.4% of the world's population, with the highest concentration found in the Americas where 49.4 percent of the people are Catholic.
- adapted from the Vatican Yearbook
NOTE: This article is meant to accompany the article "I Will Give You Shepherds: Addressing the Priest Shortage."
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Acknowledgement
Vatican Yearbook. "Is There a Priest Shortage?" By the Numbers: Lay Witness (May/June 2003).
This article is reprinted with permission from Lay Witness magazine. Lay Witness is a publication of Catholic United for the Faith, Inc., an international lay apostolate founded in 1968 to support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.
