A century after Pope Pius XI established World Mission Sunday, the Catholic Church has grown dramatically in the mission territories, from fewer than 10 million Catholics to nearly 347 million.
According to data from the website Domund100.es, produced by the Pontifical Mission Society of Spain, in 1925 the Church had 297 missionary dioceses, some of which encompassed entire countries.
There were 9,645,173 Catholics in these mission lands, representing 1.68% of the population. A century later, the number of Catholics in mission territories stands at 346,644,968, representing 8.6%.
This spread of the Gospel would not have been possible without the dedication of thousands of diocesan priests and men and women religious who answered the call to “go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to all creation.”
A hundred years ago, missionaries numbered fewer than 10,000 priests, just over 2,300 male religious, and more than 20,000 female religious. Today, there are more than 100,000 priests, over 76,000 male religious, and more than 200,000 female religious in mission lands.
The Church’s evangelizing work has translated into concrete achievements. For instance, the number of parishes has grown from 627 to over 41,000 in a century.
Although there are no records from that time regarding schools or social institutions such as hospitals, orphanages, and care homes established by the Church in these regions, the comparison over the last 50 years speaks volumes: The number of schools rose from fewer than 50,000 to nearly 125,000, and social institutions increased from 12,000 to more than 26,000.
On average each day, over the last 100 years in mission territories, the Church has seen more than 9,000 people becoming Catholic, two priestly ordinations, five women taking vows as religious, and the construction of one parish church and three new schools.
1,133 missionary dioceses
Currently, the Pontifical Mission Societies support 1,133 missionary dioceses, those that following the initial proclamation of the Gospel do not yet possess sufficient resources of their own to sustain themselves and therefore depend on the Dicastery for Evangelization.
These dioceses, which account for one-third of the Catholic Church, are spread across 138 countries covering almost all of Africa and Asia (with the exception of the Philippines), Oceania (excluding Australia), and the Amazon basin in the Americas.
Given that two-thirds of the worldʼs population lives in these territories and considering the growth of the Catholic faith there, the face of the Church is gradually changing. Indeed, 22 out of every 100 Catholics are African, whereas 40 years ago African Catholics represented barely 7%.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
A century of Church growth: From 10 million to 347 million in the mission territories – #Catholic –
A century after Pope Pius XI established World Mission Sunday, the Catholic Church has grown dramatically in the mission territories, from fewer than 10 million Catholics to nearly 347 million.
According to data from the website Domund100.es, produced by the Pontifical Mission Society of Spain, in 1925 the Church had 297 missionary dioceses, some of which encompassed entire countries.
There were 9,645,173 Catholics in these mission lands, representing 1.68% of the population. A century later, the number of Catholics in mission territories stands at 346,644,968, representing 8.6%.
This spread of the Gospel would not have been possible without the dedication of thousands of diocesan priests and men and women religious who answered the call to “go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to all creation.”
A hundred years ago, missionaries numbered fewer than 10,000 priests, just over 2,300 male religious, and more than 20,000 female religious. Today, there are more than 100,000 priests, over 76,000 male religious, and more than 200,000 female religious in mission lands.
The Church’s evangelizing work has translated into concrete achievements. For instance, the number of parishes has grown from 627 to over 41,000 in a century.
Although there are no records from that time regarding schools or social institutions such as hospitals, orphanages, and care homes established by the Church in these regions, the comparison over the last 50 years speaks volumes: The number of schools rose from fewer than 50,000 to nearly 125,000, and social institutions increased from 12,000 to more than 26,000.
On average each day, over the last 100 years in mission territories, the Church has seen more than 9,000 people becoming Catholic, two priestly ordinations, five women taking vows as religious, and the construction of one parish church and three new schools.
1,133 missionary dioceses
Currently, the Pontifical Mission Societies support 1,133 missionary dioceses, those that following the initial proclamation of the Gospel do not yet possess sufficient resources of their own to sustain themselves and therefore depend on the Dicastery for Evangelization.
These dioceses, which account for one-third of the Catholic Church, are spread across 138 countries covering almost all of Africa and Asia (with the exception of the Philippines), Oceania (excluding Australia), and the Amazon basin in the Americas.
Given that two-thirds of the worldʼs population lives in these territories and considering the growth of the Catholic faith there, the face of the Church is gradually changing. Indeed, 22 out of every 100 Catholics are African, whereas 40 years ago African Catholics represented barely 7%.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
On average each day, over the last 100 years in mission territories, the Church has seen more than 9,000 people becoming Catholic, two priestly ordinations, and five women taking vows as religious.
