The National Council for the Pastoral Care of Vocations of the Polish Episcopal Conference informed that 1,690 students are currently preparing to receive the sacrament of priesthood in diocesan seminaries and orders of the Catholic Church in Poland. Data were also provided on the number of nuns, nuns, consecrated virgins and consecrated widows. Next Sunday is the Day of Prayer for Vocations.
On April 21, the Catholic Church celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday. It is also the 61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations, and in Poland – the beginning of the week of prayer for vocations.
How many men in Poland are preparing to receive the sacrament of priesthood
According to the data provided by the National Council for the Pastoral Care of Vocations of the Polish Episcopal Conference, diocesan seminaries and orders of the Catholic Church in Poland are currently preparing to receive the sacrament of priesthood. 1,690 alumni. This is 266 fewer than a year earlier.
In the 2023/24 academic year, 280 candidates began formation for the priesthood, including 195 in diocesan seminaries and 85 in religious and missionary seminaries. For comparison, in 2022/23 there were 329 candidates, including 227 in diocesan seminaries and 102 in religious and missionary seminaries. This means that 49 fewer men registered for the seminars.
How many nuns are there in Poland?
According to the data of the Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious Congregations from December 31, 2023, in the country there were 109 active religious congregations with 15,000 inhabitants. 632 sisters. For comparison, in 2022 there were 15 thousand. 940 nuns, in 2021 – 16 thousand. 307, and in 2020 – approximately 20 thousand.
The data shows that there are 15,070 professed sisters, i.e. sisters with perpetual vows (in 2022 there were 15,309), 412 sisters with temporary vows (26 fewer than in 2022), 81 novices (in 2022 there were 109 ) and 69 postulants (15 less than a year earlier).
There are over 15,000 people living in Polish religious congregations. sisters.Shutterstock
There are 1,703 nuns working outside Poland. This is 118 fewer than a year earlier, including 472 sisters on missions.
How many nuns live in contemplative monasteries
According to the latest information, the Conference of Superiors of Contemplative Monasteries in Poland brings together 83 superiors of contemplative monasteries, belonging to 13 religious families. These are: Benedictine nuns (9 houses), Benedictine nuns of the Sacrament (3), Bernardines (9), Dominican nuns (3), Camaldolese nuns (2), Carmelite nuns (28), Capuchin Poor Clares (6), Poor Clares (7), Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (8), Norbertines (2), Redemptorists (1), Visitation Sisters (4), Annunciades (1). However, there are about 50 nuns living in six monasteries in Poland, which do not formally belong to the conference.
The data shows that in 2023, there were 1,249 nuns living in Poland. This is 29 more than the year before, when there were 1,220. There were 1,199 nuns in monasteries belonging to the cloistered conference. Among them, there were 1,093 perpetually professed, 67 temporary professed, 27 novices, 12 postulants and 30 aspirants.
“Over the last five years, the number of nuns has decreased by 72,” said the Conference of Superiors of Contemplative Nuns.
The average nun in Poland in 2023 was 57 years old.
How many consecrated virgins are there in Poland?
The National Council for the Pastoral Care of Vocations of the KEP also announced that it is currently in Poland 421 consecrated virgins (individual form of consecrated life). The largest number of them is in the Archdiocese of Krakow – 57. In second place is the Archdiocese of Warsaw, which has 39 virgins, and in third place is the Archdiocese of Gdańsk – 29. There is one in the following dioceses: Drohiczyn, Gniezno, Sosnowiec and Zamość-Lubaczów. Two consecrated virgins live in the dioceses of Włocławek and Bydgoszcz, and three in the dioceses of Siedlce, Legnica, Radom and Świdnica.
To another individual form of consecrated life, 407 women in Poland belong to the state of consecrated widowsthe largest number of which is in the Archdiocese of Łódź – 69. In second place is the Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień, where there are 40.
The National Conference of Secular Institutes (KKIŚ) includes 32 institutes and associations with 968 people, including 865 with perpetual vows, 68 with temporary vows, and 36 in initial formation.
The World Day of Prayer for Vocations is an initiative of Pope Paul VI. It was first celebrated on April 12, 1964. Good Shepherd Sunday is also the patronal feast of the Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle. It supports missionary vocations, including: the AdoMIS campaign, encouraging the adoption of missionary seminarians.
Main photo source: shutterstock