St. Angela Merici was an Italian religious educator and founder of the Ursulines whose deep prayer life and relationship with the Lord bore the fruit of mystical encounters with God. She was born on March 21, 1474 in Desenzano, a small town on the shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy. At just 10-years-old, Angela and her older sister became orphans and went to live with their uncle in Salo. There they led a quiet and devout Catholic Christian life. After the untimely death of her sister, Angela was ...

WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church will hold its annual celebration of World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life on February 2, and parishes will commemorate the event over the weekend of February 5-6. This event is a special time for individual parishes to celebrate the gift of consecrated life and pray for men and women discerning a consecrated vocation with the global Catholic Church.

Instituted by Saint John Paul II in 1997, World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life is celebrated in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, which commemorates through the blessing and lighting of candles that Christ is the light of the world. So too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to all peoples.

Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations spoke of how the example of consecrated men and women should spur all of the faithful on to greater holiness. “With lives of poverty, chastity, and obedience, consecrated men and women provide us with an example of complete dedication to Christ. They remind us that regardless of the vocation the Lord calls us to, we are all called to union with Christ and to do our part to build up the Kingdom of God.”

As it does every year, the USCCB’s Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations commissioned the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) to conduct a survey of the religious Profession Class of 2021. The survey polled women and men religious who professed perpetual vows in 2021 in a religious congregation, province, or monastery based in the United States. CARA received a response from 547 of 742 major superiors for an overall response rate of 74% among religious institutes. Of the 182 identified men and women religious who professed perpetual vows in 2021, 62 sisters and nuns and 60 brothers and priests responded to the survey for an overall response rate of 67%.

Some of the major findings and highlights of the report are:

• On average, responding religious report that they were 19 years old when they first considered a vocation to religious life. 
• The average age of responding religious of the Profession Class of 2021 is 37. Half of the responding religious are age 34 or younger. The youngest is 24 and the oldest is 70.
• Seven in ten (71%) responding religious report their primary race or ethnicity as Caucasian, European American, or white. One in ten (13%) identifies as Asian/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian. One in ten identifies as Hispanic/Latino(a). Four percent identity as African/African American/black and just two respondents identify as mixed race.
• Three-fourths of responding religious (76%) were born in the United States. Of those born outside the United States, the most common countries of origin are Vietnam and the Philippines (5 religious from each).
• On average, the respondents who were born outside the United States were 23 years old when they first came to the United States and lived here for 15 years before perpetual profession. 
• Nine in ten (86%) responding religious report that someone encouraged them to consider a vocation to religious life. Men are more likely than women to be encouraged by a parish priest, friend, mother, and parishioner.
• Almost all responding religious (99%) of the Profession Class of 2021 have at least one sibling. One in five (20%) have one brother or sister. Four in five (42%) report having two or three. A third (35%) have four or more siblings.
• The Profession Class of 2021 is highly educated. Two in ten responding religious earned a graduate degree before entering their religious institute. Seven in ten (70%) entered their religious institute with at least a bachelor’s degree (63% for women and 77% for men).
• Four in five (80%) participated in one or more religious programs or activities before entering their religious institute. Two-fifths of respondents (39%) participated in youth ministry or youth group. Three-tenth participated in young adult ministry or group (33%) and Catholic campus ministry/Newman Center (30%). One in five (18%) participated in a World Youth Day prior to entering their religious institute.

Prayers of the Faithful, and a parish bulletin quote for World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life may be found on the USCCB website. Profiles of the Profession Class of 2021 and the entire CARA survey can be found here.

###
Media Contacts:
Chieko Noguchi or Miguel Guilarte
202-541-3200

The Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia says a lack of will to reach a truce in the ongoing Yemeni conflict, and an international “disinterest”, have led to a catastrophic scenario in the country afflicted by war, disease, famine, and internally displaced persons.

Read all

 

Born at Lystra, Lycaenia, Timothy was the son of a Greek father and Eunice, a converted Jewess. He joined St. Paul when Paul preached at Lystra replacing Barnabas, and became Paul's close friend and confidant. Paul allowed him to be circumcised to placate the Jews, since he was the son of a Jewess, and he then accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey. When Paul was forced to flee Berea because of the enmity of the Jews there, Timothy remained, but after a time was sent to Thessalonica ...

A US court of appeals has confirmed the life imprisonment sentence handed down to Mexico’s most notorious drug cartel kingpin, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Read all

 

Answering Pope Francis’ appeal for Christians to mark Wednesday as a special day of prayer for peace in Ukraine, the World Council of Churches joins in pleading for dialogue instead of threats.

Read all

 

As the world prepares to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday, Pope Francis urges families to remind younger generations about the millions of people, especially Jews, killed at the hands of the Nazi regime.

Read all

 

Following the publication of the investigation, the years of the Pope Emeritus’ Bavarian episcopate are in the spotlight. It's only fair to remember Benedict XVI’s fight against clerical paedophilia during his pontificate and his willingness to meet and listen to the victims, asking them for forgiveness.

Read all

 

As Christians hold a day of prayer for peace in Ukraine, Pope Francis prays that world leaders will work towards peace as political tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine.

Read all

 

At the General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis offers a meditation on St Joseph as a “man who dreams,” and who knows how to discern the voice of God and act upon it.

Read all