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May 22, 2005
Priestly numbers
Thanks to Anthony I have access to Catholic Statistics again - and it's worldwide! Yay! Thanks, Anthony. And this marvelous information site uses the Annuario Pontificio.
So, crisis in Rochester?
Well - look at it this way -- compare Rochester and Atlanta in this sites 2002 figures:
Rochester - 7,107 sq miles
Catholics/Total Population.....340,000/1,490,891 -- 22.8%
.....diocesan priests -- 258
.....religious priests -- 64
.....total priests -- 322*
.....Catholics per priest -- 1,055
Atlanta - 21,445 sq miles
Catholics/Total population 321,978/5,300,006 - 6.1%
.....diocesan priests -- 161
.....religious priests -- 64
.....total priests -- 225*
.....Catholics per priest --1,431
*This Total Priest number is tricky, because as anyone who's looked at the numbers in Kenedy's Official Catholic Directory may remember the TOTAL number of priests includes those retired, on service outside the diocese but incardinated in the diocese, and those -- umm -- otherwise indisposed. You know, at a monastery in the desert, we hope. Of course, we in Rochester found out that one of those folks was serving in a big suburban parish, but you know. Things are tough here. We have so few priests.
I'll try to be less snarky -- there's every chance Rochester's average priestly AGE is much higher. After all, Rochester, as I mentioned below, may be ordaining fewer than 10 per decade, while Atlanta is ordaining that many per year on average lately.
One of the biggest problems up here, as I have said repeatedly, is the number of church buildings. When I came to Geneva in 1999 there were still 2 parishes and 4 priests (they had been "the Italian Parish" and "the Irish Parish" at some point in the past). They are, respectively, a 5 minute and a 15 minute walk from my house. You can see from one to the other in winter time when the trees are leafless. They are now one "Catholic Community" with 1 Saturday evening Mass, 4 Sunday English Masses and 1 Sunday Spanish Mass staggered between the two buildings (which we still call "parishes"). During the school year there's a Sunday Mass in the College Chapel (which is threatened with every change of parochial vicars with extinction, since we are truly an extra). We are far from uncommon in the area, and the city of Rochester is FULL of churches dating back to ethnic-parish days.
Unfortunately for Geneva, the smaller and older parish did a major renovation just in time to forestall closure. Someone with no sentiment and an iron fist (say a bishop quite different from Bishop Clark) might do something about the situation. Until then the priests of the diocese of Rochester will continue to feel that they are fatally overextended with their 7,000 square miles and 1,055 Catholics per priest. The Archdiocese of Atlanta just feeels different to parishoners and priests, despite having 3 times the area and almost half again as many Catholics per priest.
related posts - Married Latin Rite Clergy?
Shrinking diocesan priesthood + shrinking religious order = parish consolidation
Posted by CrankyProfessor at May 22, 2005 7:58 PM