Salesians number 15,037 worldwide

Salesians number 15,037 worldwide

The latest statistics of the Salesian Society were published on March 31. They show that on December 31, 2014, there were 15,037 SDBs serving in 131 countries on six continents (all except Antarctica). This shows a 1.7% drop since the previous year.  There are 1,823 houses and 100 other presences in 86 provinces.

The number of SDBs included 426 novices, 2,620 seminarians, 1,742 coadjutors, 18 permanent deacons, 10,231 priests, and 122 bishops.

A year earlier there had been 15,298 SDBs:  445 novices, 2,645 seminarians, 1,758 coadjutors, 18 deacons, 10,308 priests, and 122 bishops.

The published statistics showed the greatest number of SDBs in the Mediterranean Region (France, Italy, the Middle East, Portugal, Spain, and their missions) with 3,213 professed and 21 novices. (This region was created at the 27th General Chapter last year, along with the North-Central Europe Region, when 3 European regions were consolidated into 2. The reason for such consolidations--of regions as well as of provinces--unfortunately is the declining overall number of SDBs in those areas.)

The smallest region was America South Cone (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) with 1,362 professed and 29 novices.

In between were the regions of

* South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, and their missions), with 2,659 professed and 122 novices;

* North-Central Europe (14 countries) with 2,248 professed and 32 novices;

* Intermerica (18 countries including the U.S. and Canada) with 1,881 professed and 45 novices;

* Africa (43 countries) with 1,469 professed and 114 novices;

* East Asia-Oceania (Australia, Burma, China, Indonesia-Timor, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and their missions) with 1,386 professed and 61 novices.

The Generalate and the Salesian Pontifical University are not part of any region but counted 193 confreres in their communities. Bishops, likewise, are not counted as part of a region.

Numerically, the largest province in the Congregation, by far, was the newly configured Madrid Province (599 men), followed by Piedmont-Valle d’Aosta (496). (In the last year Spain’s six provinces were consolidated into two.) Hungary (34) and Ukraine (38) were the smallest provinces.

In our Interamerica Region, the biggest province was Venezuela with 194 confreres and novices; the smallest was Haiti with 65. The two American provinces counted 166 men (U.S. East and Canada) and 95 (U.S. West).

Of the 122 bishops, 9 are cardinals: 5 of voting age, i.e., younger than 80 (Rodriguez, Amato, Ezzati, Bo, and Sturla) and 4 over 80 (Obando, Zen, Farina, and Bertone).

I haven't seen 2014 (or even 2013) statistics for other orders and congregations, but based on the figures published for Dec. 31, 2012, (Catholic Almanac 2014), the SDBs would remain the 2d largest order/congregation of men in the Catholic Church.