Number of seminarians in U.S. & Worldwide on the rise
November 30, 2011VIDEO:
The number of seminarians in the United States has risen to 3,608--the highest number since the early 1990s--with some seminaries experiencing their highest enrollment in decades.
In Minnesota, the archdiocesan seminary in St. Paul has its largest enrollment since 1980, while enrollment at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio is the largest since the 1970s. Theological College in Washington is at its maximum enrollment.
"I'm tremendously impressed with the quality of the candidates, their zeal," said Father Phillip Brown, who was appointed rector of Theological College in March. "We're seeing a real renewal of the priesthood."
Under Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, the Church worldwide has been blessed with a priestly vocation boom. The number of major seminarians surged from 63,882 in 1978 to 117,978 in 2009, an increase of nearly 85%, outstripping world population growth (58%) and Catholic population growth (56%) during the same time period.
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