Two-thirds of priests are now over 60

The number of Irish religious (nuns, brothers, priests in religious orders) has dropped from 23,308 in 1981 to 13,393, according to figures from a survey. And of that 13,393, 6,314, or 47.1 per cent are retired, with two-thirds over 60.

Conducted by Mr John Weafer, of Weafer and Associates Research and Consulting Ltd, for the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI), it will be published in the book A Fire in the Forest (Veritas) which is to be launched in Dublin on Wednesday next.

The survey was begun in November 1999 when questionnaires were sent to 127 congregations listed in CORI's Address Guide 2000 and final replies were received in May of last year. There was a 92 per cent response rate.

The findings reveal that in November 1999 approximately 10,975 Irish religious were living/working on the island, with a further 2,418 (18 per cent) abroad.

Just over two-thirds of the total figure are aged 60 and over, with 11 per cent under 50. Seven out of every 10 Irish nuns are 60 or over with just seven per cent under 50. And of Irish religious in the under 29 age group, 78 per cent are working abroad.

Indeed, of Irish religious aged under 40, 394 work abroad, compared to 312 in Ireland. However in the over 50s category the vast majority - 10,057 - of Irish religious work or live in Ireland, with just 1,922 abroad.

Currently there are 59 religious in Ireland who are under 29 with a further 214 abroad. Between them they make up two per cent of all Irish religious. A total of 433, or 3.2 per cent, are aged between 30 and 39 with 253 in Ireland and 180 abroad, while 808 - six per cent - are aged between 40 and 49, with 606 of this group in Ireland.

Of the total 21.4 per cent are aged between 50 and 59, 25.3 per cent are between 60 and 69, with 24.9 per cent between 70 and 79, and 17.2 per cent are over 80. Indeed the number of Irish religious over 80 - 2,292 - far exceeds the figure for Irish religious under 50 - 1,514.

In a commentary on the survey, Sister Elizabeth Maxwell, secretary general of CORI, said the downturn in vocations to the religious life was evident as far back as 1970. Writing in A Fire in the Forest she said that while scandals in the 1990s had an impact on morale it would be facile to attribute the decline to them. "By 1967 the peak in membership had been reached," she said, and that the steady decline which followed was "affected undoubtedly by the climate of reflection and questioning that the experience of Vatican II made possible".

Of all Irish religious 9,809 are nuns, with 1,351 abroad, while 923 are brothers - 188 abroad -, and 2,661 are priests of whom 879 are abroad. Though figures are not directly comparable, surveys in 1981 and 1989 showed the number of Irish nuns at 12,332 and 11,415 respectively, with brothers at 1,490 and 1,178 respectively, and priests at 3,551 and 3,041 respectively.

Administrative areas of some congregations have changed since 1981/89 as has the format of records kept by some congregations.

And the 1989 survey "would appear to have been limited to Irish personnel living and/or working in Ireland at the time of the research" as Mr Weafer explained.

As well as the pronounced ageing of Irish religious, two other major trends are evident from the new figures, the dispersal of religious into smaller and more numerous communities and a shift from service in education and health.

In 1981 there were 850 communities of nuns in Ireland, today there are 1,335. In 1981 there were 224 communities of religious order priests in Ireland, now there are 345.

But today there are 158 communities of brothers on the island, compared to 206 in 1981. Overall there are 150 fewer community houses in Ireland than was the case five years ago.

In recent years also there has been a significant shift on the part of religious towards pastoral and social ministries. Currently 2,188 religious are involved in education in Ireland, 1,669 full-time or 12.4 per cent of the overall total of religious.

In 1989 that latter (full-time) figure was 4,091, then 26.2 per cent of the total.

An interesting fact to emerge from the survey is that the great majority of Irish religious - 3,653 or 33.3 per cent live in Dublin. Over half of all Irish religious live in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Limerick, while 52 per cent live in Leinster with just 10 per cent in Connacht.