Pope Francis expressed his concern about the lack of vocations in Italy, on the sidelines of the general audience he presided over in St. Peter's Square on May 22, 2024. Leaving aside his notes, he encouraged Catholics to pray for vocations, as European figures show a sharp decline.
Greeting novices taking part in a course promoted by the Union of Major Superiors of Italy — which brings together the peninsula's more than 600 female congregations —the Pope commented on his concern for religious vocations. "I see these novices and I ask myself: How many are Italian? Not many ..." he spontaneously told the crowd.
"There’s a shortage of vocations in Italy," the head of the Catholic Church said sadly. “Let us think, and pray for vocations to the consecrated life."
In 2021, data from a report by the Italian Bishops' Conference revealed that in just 10 years, vocations had declined by 28%. In 50 years, the number of seminarians in particular has declined by more than half: in 1970, there were 6,337 seminarians, compared with 2,103 in 2019.
More broadly in Europe, in the space of 10 years, the continent has lost around 27,000 priests, 6,000 seminarians, and almost 80,000 nuns, according to the latest data on the Catholic Church published in 2023. With the exception of Africa, all continents are experiencing a decline in the number of seminarians.
