Article updated in September 2026 with the most recent data available: the CARF Foundation Annual Report 2025 and the Pontifical Yearbook 2026, published by the Holy See in March 2026.
Having a well-trained priest comes at a high cost to the diocese. Upon entering the seminary, any aspiring priest has five years of ecclesiastical studies ahead of him, equivalent to a bachelor's degree and a specialization. This is followed by at least two years or more of doctoral studies, including the completion of a research thesis.
The cost involved in the formation of seminarians and diocesan priests should be a collective effort of all Christians. Dioceses, foundations, faithful and even the brotherhoods and confraternities collaborate ingeniously so that we sow the world with priestly vocations.
Since its foundation in 1989, the CARF Foundation has acted as a link between thousands of benefactors willing to contribute financially with study grants and scholarships so that priests and seminarians from all over the world can receive a solid theological, human and spiritual preparation.
More than 1,500 bishops and superiors general of religious orders from 130 countries wish for some of their priests and seminarians to study at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome or at the Faculties of Ecclesiastical Studies of the University of Navarra in Pamplona. They would also complete their human and spiritual formation at the Sapientiae International Ecclesiastical Colleges (Rome) and Bidasoa (Pamplona). To make this possible, training also apply for study grants for their candidates.
Thanks to benefactors and donors like you, the CARF Foundation meets most of the requests, but the needs are growing and we want all requests to be met.
Donate now to form diocesan seminarians from all over the world.
18,000 euros is the amount necessary for a candidate to live, study and train for a year at the universities of Rome or Pamplona. The neediest dioceses in the world request a full scholarship for their candidates. In all cases, the diocese covers a small part of the cost of training a seminarian in his country of origin, as a sign of its commitment to maximize the future use of the aid.
Each academic year, the CARF Foundation provides direct and indirect scholarships to approximately 400 seminarians, 1,120 diocesan priests, and about 80 members of religious institutions. Each full scholarship awarded by the foundation is broken down as follows: €11,000 for room and board; €9,000 for university tuition and comprehensive formation, including academic, personal, and spiritual support. Personal expenses are always the responsibility of the student or the diocese.
How much has the number of seminarians in the world grown?
The Central Office of Church Statistics has been in charge of the edition of the Pontifical Yearbook 2026 and the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2024 published in recent days.
The data collected as of December 31, 2024, compared with 2023, provides an overview of the numerical reality of the Catholic Church in different countries and continents, allowing us to extract some new information related to the life of the Church in the world today.
The presence of Catholics does not change at the level of the entire planet, but it does if we analyze the number of Catholics in the different continents. There is a maximum increase on the African continent and a relative increase in Asia. On the other hand, in Europe there has been a continuous decline in recent years. America and Oceania remain stable in relation to the world total.
The data analyzed on priests in all ecclesiastical districts of the Catholic world, both diocesan and religious, reveal a decline in the number of priests. At the close of 2020 there were 410,219 priests in the world, 4,117 fewer priests than the previous year. Only in Africa and Asia were there significant increases in the number of priests, which together contributed a total of + 1,782 priests to the world during the biennium under analysis.
We can observe a clear imbalance between the number of Catholics and priests in the world, which translates into a very high overall pastoral burden.
The number of seminarians worldwide decreased from 106,495 in 2023 to 103,604 in 2024. This trend in the number of seminarians worldwide, observed between 2019 and 2020, affected all continents except Africa, where the number of seminarians increased by 2.25%, from 34,924 to 35,710.
The declines in priestly vocations are significant, especially in Asia (-8.98 %), although they can also be seen in Europe (-5.48 %), Oceania (-1.67 %) and America (-0.83 %).
The percentage distribution of seminarians by continent shows slight changes over the two-year period. Africa and Asia accounted for 61.3% in 2023 and 61.2% in 2024. Oceania shows a slight downward adjustment. The Americas and Europe as a whole saw their share decrease. The Americas and Europe represented 37.7% in 2023 and 37.9% in 2024.
The birth of priestly vocations in Africa and Asia is a constant fact recorded in recent years. These future priests will support and strengthen the European and American Churches. This data helps us to get a real idea of the responsibility we have as Catholics to take care of each new vocation with the utmost care. Supporting the dioceses in the formation of seminarians, even more so in the most disadvantaged continents.
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