VATICAN (UCAN): Data released by the Vatican shows an increase in priests from Asia and Africa even as their number fell worldwide. The Annuario Pontificio 2020, the Vatican yearbook indicated that the number of priests worldwide fell to 414,065 in 2018, with Europe registering the largest decline, followed by the Americas.
Europe posted a seven per cent slide in 2018, while the decrease in Oceania was a little over one percent.
However, Africa recorded a 14.3 per cent increase and Asia an 11 per cent rise during the 2013 to 2018 period. The numbers in North and South America remain static, the yearbook data shows.
The number of candidates for priesthood fell to 115,880 at the end of 2018 compared with 118,251 in 2013, with Europe and the Americas accounting for the largest fall.
The number of young men attending a minor seminary decreased for the third consecutive year in 2018 to 100,164, but the number attending major seminaries rose to 115,880.
There were 15,716,000 more Catholics added to the Church’s fold at the end of 2018, taking the overall number of Catholics to 1,328,993,000 compared with 1,313,278,000 in the previous year. As a result, there are an average of 3,200 Catholics per priest.
