Small is beautiful, suggests diocesan vocations study

Just 16 U.S. dioceses ordain above replacement rate

Of nearly 150 U.S. Latin Catholic dioceses, only sixteen of them have ordained enough priests in recent years to maintain their current levels of clergy, according to a new study.

A candidate lies face down during his priestly ordination. Credit: ©Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk.

In the years between 2013 and 2023, not a single diocese serving more than 750,0…