The number of Catholic priests is falling. However, conventional conventions are growing

According to the latest statistics, the number of Catholic priests and seminarians worldwide is steadily decreasing, while the number of priestly associations devoted to the celebration of conventional Latin Mass continues to grow.

The number of priests in the planet is decreasing. According to the latest data, published by Vatican Fides, full number of priests fell by 734 from 2022 to 2023, despite a 16-million increase in the full number of Catholics. The number of seminarians in this period besides decreased by 1986, as confirmed by the increasing crisis of vocations in the Church.

According to Fides, in 2023 there were 406,996 Catholic priests in the world, This figure does not include priests of the Priesthood of Saint Pius X (FSPX) who on 1 November 2025 was 733, but for his bishops. The number of priests in the fraternity is steadily increasing, as are the places where they hold the liturgy. St. Peter's Priesthood (FSSP) growth at a comparatively steady pace since its disconnection from the FSPX in 1988, though to a lesser extent.

While the number of Catholic clergy in the planet is decreasing, Africa and Asia are places where growth was recorded, respectively, by 1451 and 1145. However, even in Asia, the number of seminarians fell by 1331 in 2023. In the erstwhile year, the number of seminarians decreased by only 375. In Africa, the number of seminarians increased by 383 in 2023, a much smaller increase than in the erstwhile year (726). In 2023, Africans constituted almost 1 in 3 seminarians in the world.

It is worth noting that the number nuns around the planet are inactive falling significantly, despite the increase in the number of Catholics. In 2023, the number of sisters fell by 9805, making a full of 589 423 sisters. Africa and Asia are again an exception, with small growth in Asia (+46 sisters) and much larger in Africa (+1804).

In the United States, the number of priests fell in 1965, after the Second Vatican Council, and then began to fall rapidly after 1985, along with a parallel, violent increase in the number of Catholics in that country. This suggests that the changes in the liturgy and the teaching of religion initiated by the Council have caused considerable harm to the vocations, but have helped to gather more believers.

In support of this causal link, in a secular survey published in 2025, it was found that the Second Vatican Council caused a decrease in the number of faithful The Catholic Church around the world, compared to the number of faithful another religions, including Protestant Christianity.

National Bureau for economical investigation (NBER) determined“In comparison with another countries, there has been a steady decrease in the monthly number of adults attending the service, starting in 1965, in the last year of the Council.

The conclusions are as follows: The church gained by quantity but not quality. The quality is systematically decreasing, but it is good that there are conventional gatherings that are likely to lead to permanent changes in the Church in the future, like the Kluniacka improvement at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries.

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