Ordination class of 2014

Patrick Reidy, C.S.C. was ordained a Holy Cross priest on April 26 by Bishop Kevin Rhoades.  (Photo by  Matt Cashore, University of Notre Dame)

A study of the approximately 477 men ordained in 2014 shows ethnic and education trends of recent years continuing to hold true. The group is ethnically mixed, although Hispanics, measuring 15 percent of the ordinands, are under-represented. (Roughly a third of American Catholics are Hispanic.)

As in past years, the men also show a strong link to Catholic education. Half attended Catholic grade school, 41 percent attended Catholic high school, and 45 percent a Catholic college. 

The annual study of ordinands--both diocesan and religious order--was conducted by the Center for Research in the Apostolate for the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference. Click here for the full or summarized study. Other major findings about new ordinands include:

• Their median age is 32.
• 31 percent were born outside the U.S.
• 67 percent were white; 15 percent Hispanic; 11 percent Asian or Pacific Islander.
• On average they first considered the priesthood at age 17.
• Religious order priests tended to have more schooling than their diocesan counterparts, with 22 percent holding master's degrees before seminary (versus 14 percent for diocesan ordinands).