Study: Number of parishes headed by laity has doubled

By PATRICIA LEFEVERE

To those familiar with Catholic demographics and the drop in vocations to the priesthood, it is no surprise to learn that the number of U.S. Catholic parishes entrusted to deacons, religious sisters and brothers and other lay persons has more than doubled in just over a decade. In 2004 there were 566 parishes entrusted to someone other than a priest, compared to 268 in 1993.

Indeed, more that 3,100 parishes -- or 16 percent of all U.S. parishes -- no longer have a resident pastor. That number stood at just over 500 in 1965. Since 1965 the U.S. Catholic population has grown 41 percent and the number of parishes has increased 8 percent while the number of diocesan priests has fallen 19 percent.

In the wake of this reality, some bishops have appointed parish life coordinators, sometimes known as pastoral administrators or pastoral coordinators. The revised 1983 Code of Canon Law allows bishops to entrust the pastoral care of a parish to a deacon or lay person if there is a dearth of priests to pastor them.

The largest number of parishes with a pastoral administrator is in the Midwest and the fewest in the Northeast. Dioceses with the most parishes entrusted to religious sisters include New Ulm, Minn.; Saginaw, Mich.; and Albany, N.Y. Those with the most parishes run by deacons are Charleston, S.C.; Lafayette, Ind.; and Louisville, Ky.

Dubuque, Iowa, has the most parishes administered by religious brothers while lay men and women have been entrusted with the greatest number of parishes in Fairbanks, Alaska; Salina, Kan.; and Seattle.

Information on the growth of such parishes was released in late July by CARA, which conducted research on parish life coordinators for six national Catholic organizations brought together through a $2 million Lilly-funded project.

The six are the National Association for Lay Ministry, Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development, National Association of Church Personnel Administrators, National Association of Diaconate Directors, National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association and National Federation of Priests’ Councils.

The study also found that there are several bishops who have appointed no parish life coordinators, though they have many parishes with no resident pastor.

According to the study, in 2004, four Midwestern dioceses had more than 70 of their parishes administered by nonresident pastors, including Fargo, N.D.; Springfield, Ill.; and Rapid City and Sioux Falls, S.D. Overall, 76 dioceses have 10 or more parishes in the care of nonresident pastors.

What can be learned about parish life coordinators from the study? Six in 10 are female. The average number of households served by a parish life coordinator is 401. On average their parish holds 2.2 weekend Masses and 1.6 weekday Masses, each of these assigned to a priest.

Nearly 80 percent of parish life coordinators have earned a graduate or professional degree and 62 percent of them have received some sort of specialized training for their ministry post. Two in three of those polled felt adequately prepared for their ministry.

Eight in 10 have a written job description; just over half have a contract. Three out of five said they had a formal installation ceremony; only half of those services were presided over by the bishop.

Only 14 percent of the coordinators were introduced to parishioners by their bishop. About a quarter of them were introduced by the former pastor and another quarter introduced themselves to the parish.

Those who experienced a formal installation report very positive professional interactions with their bishop and priest-moderator. Nearly all parish life coordinators agree “somewhat” or “very much” that the priests with whom they work respect their roles and that they feel supported by the sacramental minister with whom they work.

About half of all pastoral coordinators preach -- on average four times a month.

About a third of them wear vestments. Three in four said they spend most of their time on sacramental preparation, meeting with their pastoral council and dealing with finances.

A majority of pastoral life coordinators see themselves as the “pastoral leader” of their parish and half consider themselves the “sacramental leader.”

What seems clear is that the future of parish life coordinators depends as much on job security and compensation as it does on relations with parish staff and the bishop.

Just over half feel they have sufficient job security while only 47 percent think they receive adequate pay for their ministry. Nearly a third said they had considered leaving their work within the past 12 months.

The typical parish coordinator’s salary is between $25,000 and $39,999. One-third earn less than $25,000 and 18 percent make more than $40,000. Those in the largest parishes and lay male coordinators earn the highest ministry incomes.

More than 80 percent have health insurance and 76 percent have retirement benefits, while 68 percent receive paid vacations. More than half of parish life coordinators get dental insurance and paid retreats while 27 percent receive tuition assistance.

More than half live in parish rectories -- most of them religious brothers and sisters. Of those not living in rectories, 12 percent received some other form of housing and 22 percent received a housing stipend.

National Catholic Reporter, September 16, 2005