Pope Francis urged religious orders on Monday to work and pray harder for new priests and nuns to join, as he acknowledged the congregations’ futures are at risk with the numbers of men and women entering Catholic religious life plummeting in parts of the world. The Jesuit pope emphasized the urgency of this issue, stressing the vital role that these religious vocations play in the life and mission of the Church.
The Jesuit pope asked representatives of a half-dozen religious orders celebrating assemblies this summer in Rome how many people they each had training to be priests or nuns. Audience members responded saying eight, 12, and 17, with new members coming from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Francis expressed his concern and hope, highlighting the importance of these new vocations for the future of the Church.
“The future is there, it’s true,” Francis told them. “We have to double these numbers!” He passionately encouraged the audience, emphasizing the need for a greater effort in fostering vocations from all parts of the world.
For over a decade, the overall number of Catholic priests and nuns from Europe and parts of the Americas has been in a free fall as new members fail to make up for deaths and desertions. This decline has been a source of great concern for the Church, as it impacts the ability to carry out its mission effectively.
The new priests in the Global South have limited the overall global decline, with a total of 407,872 priests recorded in 2021 compared to 413,418 in 2011, according to Vatican statistics. This limited decline is a testament to the growing number of vocations in regions such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America, which offer a glimmer of hope for the future.
But the drop has been much more precipitous in female religious orders, which on a global scale have been shedding around 10,000 members per year to death and desertions for over a decade. This significant loss has had a profound impact on the communities that rely on the presence and work of these religious sisters.
While there are exceptions with vibrant, growing communities, the number of religious sisters worldwide stood at 608,958 in 2021 compared to 713,206 a decade prior, according to the most recently available statistics. As with the men, Europe and the Americas have seen the greatest declines. These statistics highlight the urgent need for renewed efforts in promoting religious vocations among women.
The downward trends have prompted some orders to collapse and others to scale down and sell off properties so that aging members can be cared for in their final years. Some orders have stopped accepting new members since their futures aren’t assured. This has led to a reevaluation of how these orders manage their resources and care for their members.
Francis, who has urged religious superiors to not lower the bar to admission to mitigate lower numbers, encouraged the priests, brothers, and nuns to be careful in training new recruits. He stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity and spirit of their charism in the formation of new members.
“You have to have successors who will continue your charism,” he said, referring to the underlying spirit that inspires a religious order. “Pray, pray.” His words were a call to action, urging the religious communities to focus on prayer and diligent formation to ensure the continuity of their mission.