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In 1965, the Second Vatican Council released Presbyterorum Ordinis on the ministry and life of priests, and Optatam Totius on the training of priests. Since 1970, the number of Catholic priests in the world has decreased by about 5,000, to 414,313 priests as of 2012.
In the years since World War II there has been a substantial reduction in the number of priests per capita in the Catholic Church, a phenomenon considered by many to constitute a "shortage" in the number of priests. From 1980 to 2012, the ratio of Catholics per priest increased globally, with the number of Catholics per priest going from 1,895 ...
clerics regular (priests who take religious vows and have an active apostolic life) Catholic religious orders began as early as the 500s, with the Order of Saint Benedict being formed in 529. The earliest orders include the Cistercians (1098), the Premonstratensians (1120), the Poor Clares founded by Francis of Assisi (1212), and the ...
The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide ... the number of priests declined from 59,000 to 35,000 and the number of people who have left ...
In the Catholic Church, authority rests chiefly with bishops, [4] while priests and deacons serve as their assistants, co-workers or helpers. [5] Accordingly, "hierarchy of the Catholic Church" is also used to refer to the bishops alone. [6] The term "pope" was still used loosely until the sixth century, being at times assumed by other bishops. [7]
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.28 to 1.39 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2024. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 9 ] It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization .
A very small number are priests recognised by the pope for their service to the Church; as canon law requires them to be generally consecrated as bishops before they are made cardinals, [2] but some are granted a papal dispensation. [a] There are no strict criteria for elevation to the College of Cardinals. Since 1917, a potential cardinal must ...
The first percentage, 4th column, is the percentage of population that is Catholic in a region (number in the region x 100 / total population of the region). The last column shows the national Catholic percentage compared to the total Catholic population of the world (number in the region x 100 / total RC population of the world).