20% increase in number of men ordained priests; 25% born outside the U.S.

Seminarians lead a procession for Mass during the dedication of a new building at the Pontifical North American College in Rome Jan. 6. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Report: 20% increase in number of men to be ordained priests in 2015

The study from Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate indicates strong influence of parish priests and family in encouraging vocations

Yesterday the USCCB released some information about men to be ordained priests this year. On average, the report states, the men were 17 years old when they first considered the vocation of priesthood, and 71% said they were encouraged in that regard by a parish priest, "as well as friends (46 percent), parishioners (45 percent), and mothers (40 percent)." And the number of men to be ordained is up 20% from last year: "The total number of potential ordinands for the class of 2015, 595, is up from from 477 in 2014 and 497 in 2013."

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh, North Carolina, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, found that the data gave reason for hope but also provide areas for further growth.

“It is encouraging to see the slight increase in the number of ordinations this year in the United States,” Bishop Burbidge said. “When asked about the positive influences they encountered while discerning the call, those to be ordained responded that the support from their family, parish priest, and Catholic schools ranked very high.”

Father W. Shawn McKnight, executive director of the Secretariat, cited educational debt as a growing concern. “Over 26 percent of those ordained carried educational debt at the time they entered the seminary, averaging a little over $22,500 in educational debt at entrance to the seminary. Considering the high percentage of the men ordained already having earned an undergraduate degree, it will be important to find ways to assist in debt reduction in the future.”

The average age for this year's ordinands is 34, and eight in 10 of those who responded and participated in the information gathered by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) are between the ages of 25 and 39. 69% of the men are Caucasian/European American/white, with 14% being Hispanic/Latino and 10% of Asian or Pacific Islander background.

Continue reading on the CWR blog.