Priest numbers in Dublin to fall 70 per cent in 20 years, report predicts

Only two priests have been ordained in capital’s archdiocese since 2020, with none so far this year

Mass offering: No priest was ordained for the Dublin Archdiocese this year and only two have been ordained for the archdiocese since 2020. Photograph: iStock
Mass offering: No priest was ordained for the Dublin Archdiocese this year and only two have been ordained for the archdiocese since 2020. Photograph: iStock

The number of priests in the Dublin Archdiocese will have dropped by 70 per cent from current levels in 2044, while cash reserves at one of its two major charities will run out within 16 years.

Total reserves in the archdiocese are currently €359.08 million.

The figures are provided in the 2023 financial statements for the archdiocese, published on its website. The first statement is of the Diocesan Support Services and some other charitable funds administered by the diocese, based at Archbishop’s House in Drumcondra, and the second represents a combined financial overview of parishes in the archdiocese.

The Catholic population of Dublin is approximately 1 million people, serviced through 197 parishes. A total of 447 primary schools in Dublin are Catholic, as are 178 post-primary schools, while there’s a Catholic representative on the boards of 45 other second-level schools.

READ MORE

“The actuarial assessment projects a 70 per cent reduction in the number of diocesan priests over the next 20 years due to the ageing clergy. No priest was ordained for the archdiocese this year and only two priests have been ordained for the archdiocese since 2020,” it is noted.

Some 21 men begin studies for ordination as Catholic priestsOpens in new window ]

In 2023, “payments were made to 331 serving priests and 43 retired priests” in Dublin, it said.

Fr Tim Hazelwood, of the Association of Catholic Priests leadership team, said it was not possible to project priest numbers with accuracy. “The Christian Brothers had a projection (of declining numbers) for 20 years. It happened in 10,” he recalled. “Nobody knows. People get heart attacks.”

On the overall decline in numbers of priests, he said, “We’ve been saying it for years. It’s as plain as the nose on your face. There’s nobody in reserve, just plugging the gap.” He thought the pressures involved were unfair on the ageing cohort of priests, who accept a greater burden serving many parishes “out of a sense of duty or for fear of letting people down”.

He spoke of parishes now where “Sunday Mass is on a Thursday”, and one diocese where a priest is serving 12 churches. “In rural Ireland, it is very difficult,” he said. “The expectation on an older group of priests is unfair.”

Two Dublin city centre Catholic parishes to merge due to priest shortageOpens in new window ]

The Dublin financial statement, for charities and services based at Archbishop’s House, found that total reserves there now stood at €129.4 million, up from €123.4 million in 2022, but it noted that “the decrease in Mass attendance and financial contributions has a direct effect on the charity’s ability to meet its fixed expenditures”.

It was anticipated “the existing reserves will be exhausted by 2041 if income levels reduce as forecast”, it said

Dublin parishes had reserves of €229.6 million as of December 31st 2023, it said.

Patsy McGarry

Patsy McGarry

Patsy McGarry is a contributor to The Irish Times