DIOCESAN PRIESTS, ORDINATIONS AND SEMINARIANS The St. Louis Archdiocese is the 40th largest diocese in the country. The following comparisons are with the largest 61 dioceses in the country (those with 300,000 or more Catholics Diocesan Priests Ranking of Fewest Catholics per Diocesan Priest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ranking of Size of Diocese 40 49 45 57 44 28 33 51 24 61 Diocese Saint Louis MO
Paterson NJ
San Francisco CA
Albany NY
Cincinnati OH
Pittsburgh PA
Milwaukee WI
Bridgeport CT
Cleveland OH
Rochester NY
Diocesan Priests (2013) 339
261
265
195
268
365
326
230
383
170
No. of Catholics (2013) 521,804
425,000
442,752
330,000
454,918
634,910
591,890
420,000
701,219
311,781
Catholics per Diocesan Priest (2013) 1,539
1,628
1,671
1,692
1,697
1,739
1,816
1,826
1,831
1,834
All Dioceses Combined 25,594
65,835,014 2,572
Ordinations to the Diocesan Priesthood Ranking of 5‐Year Average Ordinations per 100,000 Catholics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ranking of Size of Diocese 49 50 40 38 29 9 51 33 37 60 Diocese Paterson NJ
Portland OR
Saint Louis MO
Denver CO
Washington DC
Newark NJ
Bridgeport CT
Milwaukee WI
Hartford CT
Toledo OH
Total Ordinations Last 5 Years (2009‐13) 39
31
27
29
32
67
20
28
26
14
No. of Catholics (2013) 425,000 421,852 521,804 563,441 630,823 1,352,000 420,000 591,890 571,979 319,907 5‐Year Average
Ordinations per 100,000 Catholics 1.84
1.47
1.03
1.03
1.01
0.99
0.95
0.95
0.91
0.88
All Dioceses Combined 1,890
65,835,014 0.57
Seminarians in Diocesan Seminaries Ranking of Seminarians per 100,000 Catholics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ranking of Size of Diocese 38 58 51 29 49 44 40 8 9 10 20 47 24 Diocese Denver CO
Santa Fe NM
Bridgeport CT
Washington DC
Paterson NJ
Cincinnati OH
Saint Louis MO
Saint Paul‐
Minneapolis MN Arlington VA
Cleveland OH
All Dioceses Combined Seminarians (2013) 68
39
49
68
46
44
48
No. of Catholics (2013) 563,441 323,850 420,000 630,823 425,000 454,918 521,804 Seminarians per 100,000 Catholics (2013) 12.07
12.04
11.67
10.78
10.82
9.67
9.20
72 38
59
825,000 440,025 701,219 8.73 8.64
8.41
3,901
65,835,014 5.95
Our “true” ranking is even higher. Denver and Washington D.C. both have neo‐catechumenate seminarians in their total. Neo‐catechumenate seminarians are foreign seminarians who commit to work 3 years in the diocese and then can work anywhere in the world. Religious Order Priests ‐ 403 religious order priests resident in the diocese, but the number are declining
o
o
o
o
Many serve at SLU, private Catholic schools, provincialiates, houses of formation, Ligourian Magazine, etc.
Many serve at in our parishes, but as their numbers decline, they may no longer staff our parishes

18 parishes in the Archdiocese are staffed by non‐diocesan (primarily religious order) priests.

7 religious order priests serve as associates in our diocesan run parishes
The Society of the Divine Word left St. Nicholas parish in 2014 after staffing the parish since 1926
The Servants of Mary (Servites) will be leaving Seven Holy Founders parish in June 2015 after staffing the parish since its founding in 1927
Number of Diocesan Priests ‐ Archdiocese of St. Louis
700
600
500
Number of Diocesan Priests
No of Priests Teaching/Adminiin High Schools
No. of Priests Teaching/Adminiin
High Schools
400
Number of Military Chaplains
300
Number in South American Missions
200
Number of Parishes Administered by Religious Orders/Non‐Diocesan Priests
No. of Religious Order Priests in These Parishes
100
0
1960
30
1970
1980
1990
2000
•
•
25
•
20
7
Averages for Decade 5
10
5
18
4
6
14
0
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2015
580
43
351
5
11
4
9
3
30
89
18
26
2010
Number of Priesthood Ordinations ‐ Archdiocese of St. Louis
15
1980
2010
In the past 6‐10 years, we have averaged almost as many ordinations as we did in the 1980s.
The priests ordained in the 1970s are currently 63‐73 years old and many will be retiring in the next 10 years
The priests ordained in the 1960s are currently 73‐83 years old and though many are still active, most will retire and/or die in the next 10 years.
Ordinations:
•
There are 43 men in the Seminary – we can expect an average of 5 ordinations per year for the foreseeable future
Deaths:
•
Actuarially, 10 ‐ 11 priests will die each year for the next 10 years (average 10.5 per year)
Other Changes:
•
There will be some new priests incardinated into the diocese (averaged 1.0 per year last 10 years)
•
There will be some priests excardinated into other dioceses (averaged 0.4 per year last 10 years)
•
There will be some priests leave active ministry (averaged 1.2 per year last 10 years)
THUS WE WILL HAVE A NET LOSS OF 6 PRIESTS PER YEAR or 60 IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS
As of July 1, 2015
As of July 1, 2015
STATUS OF DIOCESAN PRIESTS
153 Pastors in Parishes (7 are age 75+, 43 will reach retirement age of 75 in next ten years)
43 Full‐Time Associate Pastors in Parishes
13 Part‐Time Associates/Priests in Residence (have other full‐time assignments)
25 Retired Priests in Parishes (average age 78)
234 P i t i P i h
234 Priests in Parishes
73 Retired Priests (Regina Cleri, private residence, nursing homes)
31 Priests in other assignments (Bolivian missions, seminary, studying in Rome, military chaplains, etc.)
13 Inactive (leave of absence, medical leave, leaving priesthood)
351 Total Diocesan Priests
STATUS OF PARISHES
74 Parishes with resident pastor and at least one associate and/or priest in residence
61 Parishes with resident pastor serving the parish alone
8 Parishes that are twinned (pastor and associate serve two parishes)
18 Parishes that are twinned (pastor serves two parishes)
4 P ih
4 Parishes where a pastor serves a parish and a mission h
t
ih d
i i
1 Parish served by a Parish Life Coordinator (PLC) – Permanent Deacon
18 Parishes served by religious orders or non‐diocesan priests 184 Parishes Archdiocese of St. Louis
Office of Pastoral Planning
June 2015