Growth of Catholic Priests and Institutions in America
A HUNDRED years ago there were not more than 25 priests in the United States; in 1800 there were supposed to be 40; in 1830 the number had risen to 332, and in 1848 to 890. In ten years, from 1862 to 1872, the number of priests was more than doubled, having grown from 2217 to 4809. In 1875, there were, according to the official statistics of the various dioceses, 5074 priests, 1273 ecclesiastical students, and 6528 churches and chapels in the United States. There are, also, at the same time, 33 theological seminaries, 63 colleges, 557 academies and select schools, 1,645 parochial schools, 214 asylums, and 96 hospitals under the authority and control of the Catholic hierarchy of this country.—The Catholic World.