Report on newly ordained priests

The annual report about new ordinands was released in April by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Produced by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), it reviews information about the age, race, background, and vocational discernment of men who have just been ordained. It can be downloaded here.

The report included these details about vocation programs that had an impact on the 2016 class of newly ordained men:

• On average, responding ordinands report that they were about 17 when they first considered a vocation to the priesthood. They were encouraged to consider a vocation by an average of four people. Seven in ten (70 percent) say they were encouraged by a parish priest. Other frequent encouragers include friends (48 percent), parishioners (46 percent), and mothers (42 percent).

• One half of responding ordinands (51 percent) indicated that they were discouraged from considering the priesthood by one or more persons. Among those who reported discouragement, 20 percent indicate that one person discouraged them from considering the priesthood, and 14 percent indicate that two people discouraged them.