Two-thirds of Our Priests Come from Large Families

A previous post dealt with some of the results of a nationwide survey of over 2,100 recently ordained priests. The same survey also revealed a strong correlation between vocations and family size.

Less than 3% of the priests surveyed were only children, while about 14% had 1 sibling and 18% had 2. The vast majority (65.4%) of those 2,100 priests, however, came from families with at least 4 children!



The Holy Spirit seems to be sending us a message here: Larger families - families which have demonstrated an openness to new life - are the seedbed of vocations to the priesthood.

This should be disturbing news to all those in DOR and elsewhere who hold Fr. Charles Curran and other dissident moral theologians in such high esteem. It would seem that the results of artificial contraception reach far beyond the home, affecting the entire Church in ways that no one would have predicted.

The Lord moves in mysterious ways.