Fewer people receiving sacraments
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published July 21, 2006
Detroit National and local numbers indicate that fewer people are receiving Church sacraments, but the news isn't bad everywhere.
Areas of the Archdiocese of Detroit that are seeing increased population are still seeing more sacramental practices. For example, St. Andrew Parish in Rochester is a large parish in a still-developing area, and figures for reception of the sacraments are holding steady.
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Photo by Marylynn G. Hewitt | The Michigan Catholic
Allyson Christine Frizza is baptized by Fr. Mark Soehner, OFM, July 9 at St. Aloysius Church in Detroit. Allyson, who wanted to be baptized for two years, answered a hearty Yes! when Fr. Soehner asked her if she understood what the sacrament means. | "We're in an area that's still growing," said pastor Fr. Thomas Slowinski.
There were so many first communicants this year, about 300, that the parish had to have four Masses for them all, he said. Weddings have been the same for the last couple of years about 40-50 per year and funerals are a bit down.
Fr. Jim Profota, pastor of St. Hubert Parish in Harrison Township, said weddings at his parish are up from last year. Confirmations and baptisms anywhere from six to 12 a month are a bit down, but First Eucharists are about the same.
At St. Clement Parish in Center Line, marriages and deaths are on the rise, said pastor Fr. Michael Gawlowski. He pointed out that if his numbers are down, it could be because of where the church is located Van Dyke and 10 Mile Road and because people are moving away from the inner ring of suburbs farther away from the city. He also said it might be because of the economy, as people are leaving the area or even the state to find better-paying jobs.
He said his parish was about 50 percent senior citizens, with the other half a mix of ages, so there aren't as many families with young children in the parish. But, since the church also has a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school, he said first- and second-grade sacraments are always full.
School numbers have been down for the past few years, he said, but not to the point where it's something to be concerned about. He said falling school numbers could be due to the higher tuition costs.
Perhaps because of this, Fr. Gawlowski said he finds the church's religious education program has "droves and droves" of students. "Money is a tight thing for our people," he said.
If children don't attend Catholic schools as children did years ago, when it comes time for people to get married, they might not have as strong a grounding in the faith, he said.
"They're not as aware of faith, they're not as aware of tradition as our young people used to be," he said.
Fr. Paul Chateau, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Oak Park, said weddings and first communions at his parish are down from previous years. However, he finds that it's not because people become indifferent about their faith, but because most of his parishioners are senior citizens. That's also why funerals are up.
He said the Oak Park community was built up post-World War II, and many people have lived there ever since.
Nationally, the Catholic population seems to have fallen from the past year, and declines in Catholic school enrollments and almost all sacramental practices have taken place between 2005 and 2006. Figures from the 2006 Official Catholic Directory, also known as the Kenedy Directory after its publisher, were published last month.
In the Archdiocese of Detroit, there were 317 active/available priests in 2005, with the number expected to fall to 243 by the year 2015.
Catholic schools in the Detroit area have seen steady decline; families report that it's mostly because of the cost of tuition. Enrollment for the 2005-06 school year saw an 8-percent drop from the previous year, slightly more than the drops in years before that.
The 2006 Kenedy Directory reported that the Archdiocese of Detroit had 12,606 infant baptisms, 1,034 adult baptisms, 1,748 people received into full communion, 13,409 first communions and 11,004 confirmations. There were 3,585 Catholic and interfaith marriages.
The Catholic population was reported as 1,286,985 29 percent of the six-county area's total population.
By contrast, the 2003 Kenedy Directory reported 15,139 infant baptisms, 1,261 adult baptisms, 1,741 people received into full communion, 14,601 first communions, and 11,736 confirmations in the Archdiocese of Detroit. There were 4,478 Catholic and interfaith marriages.
In 2003, the Catholic population was reported as 1,432,734 32 percent of the area's total population.
Adjusting for some obviously incorrect numbers from the Boston Archdiocese, the directory reported a nationwide Catholic population of 67,006,254 Catholics. Last year's figure was 67,820,833.
Sacramental practice and Catholic education numbers are down all over the country. Students in Catholic high schools dropped to just under 680,000, a decline of 13,000. Elementary schools enrolled 1.76 million children, almost 84,000 fewer than the year before.
The number of teachers in Catholic schools dropped by nearly 8,000, to just under 173,000.
There were some 729,000 high school students enrolled in parish religious education programs, 26,000 fewer than the previous year. Elementary students in religious education numbered nearly 3.5 million, but the total was 81,000 below the previous year's figure.
Nationwide, the Church saw a drop of about 11,000 Church-recognized marriages, 15,000 confirmations, 40,000 First Communions and 34,000 infant baptisms. Adult baptisms and receptions into full communion remained about the same, more than 154,000.
Numbers may not be quite as low if the New Orleans Archdiocese had as many sacraments reported as the year before, but data is incomplete.
There were 438 priestly ordinations nationwide reported in 2006, 29 fewer than the year before. Permanent deacons also seem to be continuing their upward trend.
Although 46 new parishes were opened across the country last year, they did not offset parish closings or mergers. The 18,992 parishes listed represent a net loss of 305 parishes last year, not counting the 113 parishes in New Orleans that have reopened since Hurricane Katrina.
Jerry Filteau of Catholic News Service contributed to this story.
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