Half of new priests ordained in US this year will be 31 years old or younger

Half of the men scheduled to be ordained as priests in the United States in 2024 are 31 years old or younger, according to the latest research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

The Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) commissioned the annual survey of ordinands to the priesthood.

A total of 392 ordinands completed the survey. CARA says four in five respondents (83 per cent) were from a diocesan or eparchy, and one in six respondents (17 per cent) was a religious.

Across the Ordination Class of 2024, the range of backgrounds and reasons for choosing to pursue the religious life are nothing if not eclectic and wide ranging.

“Before my Ordination, I completed the Camino de Santiago, a very powerful and revealing journey for me moving into my priesthood,” said Br. Vince Mary Carrasco with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

Dcn Steven Caraher, the Diocese of Gary, notes that he previously co-authored a murder mystery comedy musical.

“I worked as a D.C. police officer before entering seminary,” says Dcn Conor Hardy, Archdiocese of Washington. “People (who know me well) might not be surprised to know that I was quite bad at it.”

Altogether, responding ordinands in 2024 were, on average, 34 years old at the time of ordination (half was between 26 and 31 years old and the other half between 31 and 67 years old), notes the survey.

Since 1999, the average age was 35 and ranged between 33 and 37. In 2024, on average, responding ordinands in religious institutes were 3 years older than responding diocesan ordinands at the time of ordination.

The report from CARA listed some other notable characteristics of the Ordination Class of 2024:

About one in ten responding ordinands were home-schooled, for an average of eight years. Between 32 per cent and 42 per cent attended a Catholic elementary school, high school or college. Three in five (60 per cent) completed an undergraduate degree or a graduate-level degree before entering the seminary.

Two in three (67 per cent) are Caucasian, one in five (18 per cent) is Hispanic/Latino, one in ten (10 per cent) is Asian/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian and two per cent are Black/African American.

CARA also listed some of the factors that might have influenced the process of vocational discernment:

Four in five responding ordinands (82 per cent) reported that both their parents were Catholic when they were children. Three in ten responding ordinands (29 per cent) have or had a relative who is a priest or religious.

Nine in ten responding ordinands (89 percent) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life (most frequently by parish a priest, friend, or parishioner).

In regard to group activities, half of responding ordinands (51 per cent) participated in a parish youth group before entering the seminary, as compared to 33 per cent who participated in Catholic campus ministry, 28 per cent who participated in Boy Scouts, and 24 per cent who participated in the Knights of Columbus or Knights of Peter Claver.

When it came to participation in parish ministries, seven in ten responding ordinands (71 per cent) served as altar servers before entering the seminary, as compared to 48 per cent who served as lectors, 41 per cent who served as Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and 32 per cent who served as catechists.

The survey was initially developed in 1998 by the Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation (now the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations) of the USCCB. CARA assumed responsibility for the project in 2006, using the online survey developed by the Secretariat.

The USSB notes that the survey highlights the significant influence of parents on children’s vocational discernment.

“Mothers and fathers, united in marriage, are the first witnesses to love for their children,” says the USSB.

“It is within the family that children are taught the faith, learn the meaning of love, and grow in virtue. This year’s study of ordinands underscores the fundamental role that families, in particularly, parents, play in building up the kingdom of God. It is through the love and support of the family that children develop into the men and women God calls them to be.”

Photo:  Young priests mark the sign of the cross on people’s foreheads on Ash Wednesday in St. Patricks Cathedral, New York, 14 February 2024. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.)

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