Photo by Alison Girone
The priest shortage in the United States is afflicting the Archdiocese of Denver, but the archdiocese has reason to hope for more vocations to the priesthood, according to a report it recently released.
The archdiocese currently includes 148 parishes and about 600,000 Catholics but only has 148 archdiocesan priests in active ministry, meaning that one priest serving one parish would cover an average of 270 square miles of territory and an average of 4,054 Catholics.
Thanks to help from priests from other states or countries, the majority of parishes have more than one priest, the archdiocese noted. However, 37% of the archdiocese’s total 148 parishes only have one priest. The report additionally found that 40% of its parishes offer Mass in Spanish, meaning that there is also a great need for bicultural and bilingual priests.
The statistics also showed that just under half (49%) of the priests currently serving in the archdiocese were ordained for the archdiocese, and only 14% of them were born in Colorado.
Despite the current challenges, other statistics in the report show promising signs of an uptick in vocations to the priesthood. The archdiocese recently took part in the Called By Name initiative, a vocation campaign that encourages parishioners to submit the names of people they think might be called to the priesthood or religious life. Those whose names are submitted later receive a letter from their bishop, inviting them to begin formally discerning their vocations. According to the archdiocese, 900 names were recently submitted, more than any other archdiocese.
The archdiocese also noted that more than 20 men will enter formation for the diocesan priesthood in the 2025-26 academic year, which is the largest class in several years. Additionally, the number of seminarians increased 16% in the past academic year, going from 56 men to 65.
The archdiocese concluded its report by urging prayers for priestly vocations and for current priests, asking that they may “continue to be holy and joy-filled witnesses to the Gospel to all those they serve so generously and self-sacrificially.”
