(UCAN): The Catholic Church has recorded steady growth in Africa, Asia, and the Americas with an increase in the number of baptised Catholics and clergy while Europe continues to experience a decline, according to the Vatican’s annual Statistical Yearbook of the Church.
The Catholic population increased by 8.3 million in Africa. In America it increased to 6.6 million and in Asia, it grew to 1.49 million with about 55,000 in Oceania in 2021, according to the yearbook.
In that year, the Catholic population in Europe dropped by 244,000.
Catholics in Asia stood at 153.3 million and accounted for 11 per cent of the global Catholic population.
The yearbook was released on October 22, on World Mission Sunday, Fides reported. It coincided with the first phase of the Synod on Synodality in Rome held from October 4 to 29.
The Catholic population increased by 8.3 million in Africa. In America it increased to 6.6 million and in Asia, it grew to 1.49 million with about 55,000 in Oceania in 2021, according to the yearbook
The Asian Church is growing, Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen [Hong Kong’s sister diocese] , Germany’s delegate to the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, said on the sidelines of the synod.
The centre of the Church is “moving away from Europe and toward Asia and Africa, where there’s vibrant growth,” Bishop Overbeck said.
The global population was 7.785 billion as of 31 December 2021, and Catholics accounted for 1.3 billion with an increase of 16.2 million compared to the previous year. Catholics made up 17.6 per cent of the world’s population.
Clergy and religious increase
The number of priests worldwide increased to 407,872 up by 2,347.
Africa led the growth in total priest numbers at 51,983, up by three per cent, followed by Asia with 71,751 priests, up by one per cent.
In 2021, the number of diocesan priests in Asia increased to 40,791, up by 1.4 per cent, and the number of religious priests increased to 30,960, up by 0.5 per cent, compared to 2020.
The centre of the Church is ‘moving away from Europe and toward Asia and Africa, where there’s vibrant growth
Bidshop Overbeck
However, Europe and America showed a decline with the number of priests recorded at 160,322, down by 2.2 percent, and 119,309, down by 0.8 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, Oceania showed a minor increase in priests at 4,507, up by 0.2 percent, for the same period.
Vocations, bishops decline
The number of bishops showed a decline, except in Africa. The number of bishops in the world in 2021 was 5,340, which was 23 less than in 2020.
Africa added seven in 2021, taking its total number to 725, while Asia had 804 bishops, down by four compared to the previous year.
Asia’s male religious added 25 to its number of 12,629, while women religious added 366 members to its number of 175,494. Except for Asia and Africa, all other regions showed a decline in the number of religious personnel.
The Church in Asia runs around 1.3 million kindergarten, primary, secondary, and high schools which makes up around 50 per cent of similar institutions run by the Church worldwide
Asia saw a decline in the number of seminarians compared to Africa, which is the only continent to show an increase. Major seminarians in Asia including diocesan and religious stood at 48,742, down by 822 compared to the previous period.
Serving millions
Fides reported details of the educational and charitable initiatives taken up by the Catholic Church in Asia.
The Church in Asia runs around 1.3 million kindergarten, primary, secondary, and high schools which makes up around 50 per cent of similar institutions run by the Church worldwide.
The Church caters to around 13.9 million students including those in college, Fides reported.
The Asian Church runs an estimated 12,208 hospitals, dispensaries, leprosy centres, homes for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled, orphanages, nursery schools, marriage counselling centres, Catholic schools, and other institutes.
