Recent study results from the Barna Group — a leading marketing research firm focused on the intersection between faith and culture — confirm what the Gospels already tell us: Faith grows best in fellowship.
Statistics
While the number of Catholic priests and religious continues to decline, the number of lay missionaries, catechists, and permanent deacons continues to increase, according to the news agency Fides.
The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2023, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms all declined, according to Vatican statistics.