Comparing Continents

According to Catholic Hierarchy (www.catholic-hierarchy.org), Britain as a whole has 3,099 parishes, which include 2,659 for England and Wales. Fides enables further analysis: Britain has 1.39% of the total 408,024 priests within Europe and approximately 847 Catholics per priest, compared with 1,457 across Europe.

In Africa, which has a total of 657 bishops, 34,658 priests and 465 dioceses, there are 248 mission stations with a resident priest and 70,805 without a resident priest and, on average, a population of 4,759 Catholics per priest. Africa has 16,654 seminarians training for the diocesan priesthood, along with 8,075 who belong to Religious Orders and Congregations.

Asia has 732 bishops, 409 dioceses, 578 mission stations with one or more priests and 40,566 mission stations without a priest living on the premises. In spite of 52,802 priests and 14,966 diocesan major seminarians and 16,331 Religious seminarians, a single priest has, on average 2,290 parishioners.

There is another interesting comparison: Europe has 11,848 Permanent Deacons, compared with Africa’s 403 and Asia’s 163. It is, therefore, not surprising that any parish in Africa or Asia is so dependent on the work of 16,046 lay missionaries and 712,485 catechists. In spite of 238,540 non-clerical Religious, 2,328 members of Secular Institutes, the Church extends across so vast an area that it really needs its ‘ordinary Catholics’ to nurture each other’s faith.

Catholics across England and Wales help the Churches of Africa and Asia helping them to build faith communities, as well as supporting their 16,152 health care facilities, 4,346 orphanages, 2,848 homes for the elderly and disabled, 19,020,871 primary school pupils plus 9,875,709 secondary and third level students.