CARA gets many inquiries from Church agencies and the media about the numbers for vocations,

seminary
enrollments, priests and vowed religious, parishes, Mass attendance, schools and the Catholic population. Below
are some comparative statistics from 1965. Generally, these data reflect the situation at the beginning of the
calendar year listed. The sources for this information include The Official Catholic Directory (OCD), the
Vatican's Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae  (ASE), and other CARA research and databases. All data are cross
checked as much as possible. For the U.S, the numbers reported here include only figures for those 195 dioceses
or eparchies who belong to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This includes the 50 states, the
District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and all U.S. military personnel stationed overseas.

This page also includes links to other areas of the CARA website that provide answers to frequently asked
questions.

Follow up-to-the-minute updates about CARA research here:

For more information about CARA research and statistics, including our national and parish surveys,
demographic studies, trend analyses and projections, and focus groups visit CARA Services.  For more
information about CARA's beginings read the following Review of Religious Research article from 1967 by Francis
X. Gannon entitled, "Bridging the Research Gap: CARA, Response to Vatican II."
U.S. Data 1965 1975 1985 1995 2000 2005 2009

Total priests 58,632 58,909 57,317 49,054 45,699 42,839 40,666

Diocesan priests 35,925 36,005 35,052 32,349 30,607 28,702 27,594

Religious priests 22,707 22,904 22,265 16,705 15,092 14,137 13,072

Priestly ordinations 994 771 533 511 442 454 472

Graduate-level seminarians 8,325 5,279 4,063 3,172 3,474 3,308 3,357

Permanent deacons na  898 7,204 10,932 12,378 14,574 16,380

Religious brothers 12,271 8,625 7,544 6,535 5,662 5,451 4,863

Religious sisters 179,954 135,225 115,386 90,809 79,814 68,634 59,601

Parishes 17,637 18,515 19,244 19,331 19,236 18,891 18,280

Without a resident priest pastor 549 702 1,051 2,161 2,843 3,251 3,400

Where a bishop has entrusted the pastoral

care of the parrish to a deacon, religious
na na 93 314 447 553 517
sister or brother, or other lay person (Canon
517.2)

Catholic population 45.6m 48.7m 52.3m 57.4m 59.9m 64.8m 65.2m

Percent of U.S. population 24% 23% 23% 23% 22% 23% 22%

Catholic elementary schools -- 8,414 7,764 6,964 6,793 6,122 6,028*

Students in Catholic elementary schools -- 2.557m 2.005m 1.815m 1.800m 1.559m 1.568m*

Catholic secondary schools -- 1,624 1,425 1,280 1,297 1,325 1,220*

Students in Catholic secondary schools -- 884,181 774,216 638,440 653,723 653,226 624,515*
Mass Attendance
CARA Catholic Poll (CCP): Yearly average
percent of U.S.adult Catholics who say they
attended Mass once a week or more (i.e.,
those attending every week) in CARA's
telephone polls.
-- -- -- -- 33% 35% 36%
Comparison:  The Gallup Poll trend for the 
yearly average percent of U.S.adult
Catholics who say they attended Mass in the
last seven days (i.e., those attending in any
given week). 

*Most recent estimates of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA). School data for previous years is from the ASE.

  

World Data 1970 1975 1985 1995 2000 2005 2007

Total priests 419,728 404,783 403,480 404,750 405,178 406,411 408,024

Diocesan priests 270,924 259,331 253,319 262,418 265,781 269,762 272,431

Religious priests 148,804 145,452 150,161 142,332 139,397 136,649 135,593

Diocesan priestly ordinations 4,622 4,140 4,822 6,444 6,814 6,614 6,660

Graduate-level seminarians -- -- 43,476 54,154 55,968 58,538 58,960

Permanent deacons 309 2,686 12,541 22,390 27,824 33,391 35,942

Religious brothers 79,408 70,388 65,208 59,515 55,057 54,708 54,956

Religious sisters 1,004,304 968,526 917,432 837,961 801,185 760,529 746,814

Parishes 191,398 200,116 212,021 220,077 218,196 217,616 218,383

Without a resident priest pastor 39,431 46,074 55,343 60,705 55,729 52,509 51,330

Where a bishop has entrusted the pastoral

care of the parrish to a deacon, religious
na na 1,635 3,278 3,373 3,122 3,253
sister or brother, or other lay person
(Canon 517.2)

Catholic population 653.6m 709.6m 852.0m 989.4m 1.045b 1.115b 1.147b

Percent of world population 18% 17% 18% 17% 17% 17% 17%

Catholic elementary schools 89,112 79,424 78,160 85,043 89,457 91,480 91,694

Students in Catholic elementary schools 20.396m 19.584m 22.390m 25.246m 26.097m 28.084m 29.800m

Catholic secondary schools 25,552 27,542 30,404 33,349 35,559 39,096 41,210

Students in Catholic secondary schools 7.667m 9.522m 12.066m 13.232m 14.027m 16.232m 16.779m
International Mass Attendance:
Population weighted percentage of adult
Catholics who say they attended Mass
once a week or more (most recent data for
-- -- -- -- -- 40% --
those saying they attend every week) in 37
large Catholic population nations
(excluding the U.S. and representing 65%
of the world's Catholic population)

Frequently Asked Questions

 Is Catholic Mass attendance becoming less frequent? Graphic and Report (pgs. 20-22)

 How many Catholics go to Mass in any given week and how many go  every week? Article
 Why do Catholics say they miss weekly Mass from time to time? Graphic and Report (pgs. 48-50)
 How often do Catholics receive Eucharist at Mass? Report (pgs. 44-45)
 What percentage of Catholics go to Confession frequently? Graphic and Report (pgs. 57-60)
 What percentage of Catholics give regularly to their parish offertory collection? Report (pg. 9)
 How many Catholics consider a clerical or religious vocation? Graphic and Report (pgs. 69-75)
 How many Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday or abstain from meat on Fridays during
Lent? Article and Report (pgs. 84-88)
 What percentage of the U.S. adult population identifies as Catholic? Article
 How many people raised Catholic stop considering themselves Catholic later in life? Article
 Who do Catholics vote for? Since 1952 and more specific articles for
the 2008, 2004, and 2000 elections
 How many Latinos/Latinas self-identify as Catholic? Article. What are the differences and similarities in
the religious beliefs and practices of Latino/a Catholics and non-Latino/s Catholics? Graphics
 How likely are Catholics to be married to a Catholic? How likely are they to
divorce? Graphic and Report
 What percentage of Catholics have celebrated their First Communion and have been
confirmed? Graphic and Report (pgs. 27-30)

Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA)

Putting social science research at the service of the Church since 1964.