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Religious organisations and resources

As the largest religious organisation on the island of Ireland, the Catholic Church boasts the highest priest-people ratio anywhere in the world with the exception of the small states of Malta and Lichtenstein.

Distribution of Priests Amongst Population for Selected Countries (c.2003)

RankCountryPop. (m.)Priests#Pop per Priest
1 Malta 0,38 941 407
3 Ireland 5,3 4 993 1061
4 Italy 59,3 51 295 1156
6 Poland 36,1 26 931 1339
8 Spain 41,5 26 505 1565
17 France 58,6 23 089 2537
35 USA 281,4 46 447 6059
36 Argentina 37,4 5 759 6501
78 Honduras 6,6 381 17336
103 Mozambique 18,8 530 35540
105 Cuba 11,4 297 38303

Source: Catholic hierarchy. Note: These figures are derived from annual diocesan reports published in the Annuario Pontificio.

This pattern was largely the result of the gradual expansion of the Catholic Church in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries against the backdrop of a chronically declining population, though Church expansion accelerated between the 1930s and 1960s as the Church received State support for its activities in the spheres of education, health and charity.

Organisational Expansion of Catholic Church in Ireland, 1840s to 2000

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Source: Irish Catholic Directory (1840s to 2000) Note: These figures are derived from annual diocesan reports.

After a century-long expansion and the continued generation of a surplus of clergy, the Church began to contract during the 1970s and began to suffer a major recruitment crisis during the 1990s, with many seminaries, convents and the houses of religious orders closing or being sold to cover the costs of caring for a large and aging body of clergy.

D 21 September 2012    ASeán L’Estrange

CNRS Unistra Dres Gsrl

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