Catholic Religious Institutes in Australia 22 September 2020
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference National Centre for Pastoral Research
Catholic Religious Institutes in Australia
The 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations
Dr Trudy Dantis
In association with
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www.ncpr.catholic.org.au
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ACBC National Centre for Pastoral Research 1 Catholic Religious Institutes in Australia 22 September 2020
See, I am Doing a New Thing! - 2009 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia Understanding - 2019 Religious Vocation in Australia Today - 2018
Available at ncpr.catholic.org.au
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Demographics
ACBC National Centre for Pastoral Research 2 Catholic Religious Institutes in Australia 22 September 2020
Catholic Religious in Australia Membership: 1948-2020
Religious Sisters Religious Brothers Clerical Religious
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000 persons
of
6,000 Number 4,000
2,000
0 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Year Source: The Official Directory of the Catholic Church in Australia – annual or biennial editions from 1948 to 2020.
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Total membership as at 1 January 2018
Total membership Number
Religious sisters 6,018
Religious brothers 637
Clerical orders 1,505
Institutes 46
Societies 153
Associations 72
Total 8,431
Source: 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
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Religious sisters: Size of congregations
7% 4% 3% 1‐25 members
9% 26‐50 members 51‐75 members 76‐100 members 101‐125 members 16% 61% >125 members
N = 105 Source: 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
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Religious sisters: Age profile 1976, 2009, 2018
35
30.7 30
25
20 members
of 15 14.2 12.0
10 8.9 Percentage 5.8 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.7 5 3.4 4.0 2.4 1.1 0 Under 25 25‐29 30‐34 35‐39 40‐44 45‐49 50‐54 55‐59 60‐64 65‐69 70‐74 75‐79 80 or over 1976 2009 2018
Source: Survey of Catholic Religious Institutes in Australia 2009, 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia
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Deaths and Departures: All Catholic religious
Deaths of professed members (1 Jan 2009 - 1 Jan 2018) Departures
Religious sisters 1,817 102
Religious brothers 217 24
Clerical orders 286 109
Institutes 5 8
Societies 55 7
Associations 10 9
Total 2,390 259
Source: 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
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Vocations: All Catholic Religious
Number of first professions (1 Jan 2009 - 1 Jan 2018) Still members at 1 Jan 2018
Religious sisters 349 318
Religious brothers 20 7
Clerical orders 289 200
Institutes 3 3
Societies 30 26
Associations 22 13
Total 713 567
Source: 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
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Comparison to clerical and religious brothers: Age profile 2018
Sisters Brother Clerical 25
20
15
10
5
0 Under 25 ‐ 29 30 ‐ 34 35 ‐ 39 40 ‐ 44 45 ‐ 49 50 ‐ 54 55 ‐ 59 60 ‐ 64 65 ‐ 69 70 ‐ 74 75 ‐ 79 80 ‐ 84 85 ‐ 89 90 ‐ 94 95 or 25 over
Source: 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
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Top Six Overseas Birthplaces: Religious sisters 2018
Vietnam 705
Burma / Myanmar 425
Ireland (incl. Northern Ireland) 197
Italy 133
New Zealand 131
India 77
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 Number of Catholic Religious
Source: 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
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Organisational Change
Congregational change over the next 10 years (2009)
Declining numbers Decline due to deaths 11 Decline in numbers (reason unspecified) 34 Reduced capacity due to ageing (retirement) 8 Activities restructured Integrating ministries 1 Unspecified partnerships 2 Partnerships with other congregations 23 Partnerships with other organisations 3 Partnerships with lay people 7 Public Juridic Persons (PJPs) 3 N = 112
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Congregational change over the next 10 years (2009)
Activities restructured (continued) Move away from paid roles (voluntary) 5 Handover to Church or lay organisations 4 Activities scaled back Fewer members available to fill roles 7 Withdrawal 1 Mission maintained –members coming from overseas 3 Mission expanding Members coming from overseas 6 Growth in the Pacific 6 No change in apostolate 4 N = 112
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Level of involvement in ministry: Religious sisters 2018
Active ministry 73%
Fully retired 21% Still in formation 73 Engaged in further studies 205 Partially retired 30 Partially retired Still in Fully retired 1,111 1% Engaged in formation further studies 1% Active ministry 3,843 4%
Source: 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
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Ministry involvement of professed members in active ministry: All Catholic Religious
Ministry Number Percent Parish work 966 18.3 Education 936 17.7 Contemplative life 795 15.0 Congregational leadership and administration 448 8.5 Other pastoral care 419 7.9 Other internal congregational work 386 7.3 Mission overseas 262 5.0 Health care 259 4.9 Social services 186 3.5 Spiritual direction / Retreats 169 3.2 Formation 122 2.3 Migrants 95 1.8 Working with Australian Indigenous people 90 1.7 Refugees and Asylum Seekers 73 1.4 “Still in formation”, Fully Other ministry 1.6 85 retired“ and "Partially retired' Total 5,291 100.0 not included in table.
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Ministry involvement of professed members in active ministry: Religious sisters Ministry Number Percent Contemplative life 760 18.1 Education 712 16.9 Parish work 661 15.7 Other pastoral care 345 8.2 Congregational leadership and administration 325 7.7 Other internal congregational work 278 6.6 Engaged in further studies 205 4.9 Health care 188 4.5 Mission overseas 162 3.9 Social services 142 3.4 Spiritual direction / Retreats 105 2.5 Formation 51 1.2 Working with Australian Indigenous people 49 1.2 Refugees and Asylum Seekers 45 1.1 Migrants 20 0.5
Other ministries 159 3.8 “Still in formation”, Fully Total 4,207 100 retired“ and "Partially retired' not included in table.
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Other ministries: Religious sisters (active)
Missionary animation‐promotion Care of the Earth Art/Spirituality Youth ministry Music teaching Diocesan Chancellor St Vincent de Paul Receptionist Family carer Visitation Chaplaincy work Counselling Retreat centre Director of Professional Standards Family day care centre Atrium Prison Translator Canon law University chaplaincy Secretarial work Tutoring Early learning centre Welfare, support of families Liturgical Apostolate Diocesan Coordinator Leading prayer groups Soup kitchen Royal Commission related work Cana communities for poor and ex prisoners Apostolic Nunciature Art/icon painting Advancement of women ‐ Mission overseas Voluntary tuition Vocation promotion ACRATH Psychology Refuges for women & children Voluntary School Support Province leadership Healing retreats Homeless School counsellor Social Justice Children's services
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Ministry involvement of professed members in partially retired/volunteer ministry: Religious sisters
Ministry Number Percent Prayer support 167 42.8 Sister Pastoral Companions 35 9.0 Pastoral care 24 6.2 Mainly charitable organisations 19 4.9 Refugees 18 4.6 St Vincent de paul, parish work 12 3.1 Household duties 92.3 Aged Care 61.5 Visiting the sick and elderly 51.3 Asylum seekers 51.3 Ministry to families/Phone counselling, visits etc 41.0 Other ministries 86 22.1 Total 390 100
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Other ministries: Religious sisters (partially retired/volunteer)
St Vincent de Paul Prison ministry Social outreach Archives Hospital volunteer Tertiary theological college Ex‐prisoners Smith Family Indigenous Receptionist Counselling Tutoring Disability support Pastoral care for Primary school Homeless and Street People Hospitality Auxiliary Tutoring in schools Religious education for children ESL Sundry pastoral care & social services volunteering Chinese community
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Type of institutions owned, sponsored or operated (Religious sisters)
Other Social Services Other 16% Counselling/ 9% Mental Health Education 2% 25%
Charitable Foundation 3% Hospital 3% Conference/ Retreat Centre 8% Mission/ Overseas Institutions 3% Aged Care 31%
N = 212 Source: 2018 Survey of Religious Congregations in Australia, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
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Major transitional changes in congregations identified in 2009
Withdrawal from ministries –6 congregations New governance structures Not contemplating change –40 congregations Yes, but not specified Boards PJPs –19 congregations Incorporated bodies Trusts Lay partners Partnerships with other church entities Reconfiguration Planning (unspecified) N = 109
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CRA Governance Collaborative (CRAGC) 2019
• established to provide support services to religious institutes that will be unable to take full responsibility for their own congregational leadership in the foreseeable future. • works closely with religious institutes in transition offering a suite of services and supports which will focus on two key priority areas: supporting canonical congregational leadership and provision of shared services. • works with religious institutes to establish their specific needs and tailor an approach that will ensure their requirements are understood and met.
More info: www. catholicreligious.org.au
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Partnerships with other congregations identified in 2009
No partnership with other congregations –49 congregations Formal partnership Work closely with other congregations Loose association with member group (e.g., Benedictines) Reconfiguring No formal partnership but as the need arises –17 congregations Cooperate in aged care, health School boards Specific ministry agreement Individuals work with other congregations Cooperation has diminished over the years N = 118
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Emerging Situation in 2020
1. Religious institute partnerships with the laity are increasing significantly 2. A key area of inter‐congregational collaboration will be the provision of services for a fee by some of the larger congregations 3. Many ministries have been handed to dioceses/CEOs in recent years 4. Cross‐congregational transfers are also occurring. 5. More Ministerial PJPs
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Ministerial Public Juridic Persons (PJP)
• A juridic person is a legal entity under Canon or Church Law which is set up for one or more specific purposes –within Church law. It is the Church’s equivalent to a corporation or a company within civil law. • Such ecclesial entities are designated as public juridic persons when their purposes have been formally sanctioned by a Church authority and are carried out publicly under its auspices. (these can includes parishes, dioceses and religious congregations) • A ministerial PJP (religious congregation PJP) has the role and responsibilities of stewardship or sponsorship of ministries, enabling the ministries to relate directly to the Church. This is comparable to when they were sponsored by the religious institute/s which instigated each PJP.
More info: www.ampjps.org.au
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Additional PJPs created by congregations (2009-2018)
Congregation PJP Purpose Established • Sisters of Mercy Brisbane Mercy Partners Ministry of congregation / Education, Health, 2008 Congregation Aged Care and Community Welfare • Sisters of Charity Mary Aikenhead Ministries Ministry of congregation ‐ Health and Aged Care, 2009 Education & Welfare
• Missionary Sisters of Service John Wallis Foundation (a company Ministry of congregation 2010 limited by guarantee) Not a PJP • Holy Family of Nazareth Sisters Nazareth Care Ministry of congregation / Aged Care 2010 • The Corporation of the Little Calvary Ministries Ministry of congregation / Health 2011 Company of Mary • Institute of the Sisters of Mercy Institute of Sisters of Mercy Australia Administration of 2011 Australia and Papua New and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG) amalgamated Guinea congregations • Good Samaritan Sisters, Australia Good Samaritan Education Education 2012
• Brigidine Sisters Kildare Ministries Ministry of congregation ‐ Education & 2014 Community Works • Dominican Sisters of Eastern Dominican Education Australia Education 2016 Australia and the Solomon Islands • Society of the Sacred Heart of Sophia Education Ministries Education 2017 Jesus
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CRA Interculturality: Leadership, Community Life and Ministry initiative 2019: why is it needed?
• There are an increasing number of overseas‐born religious institute members either joining and strengthening Australian provinces or bringing new congregations to Australia with a small groups of ‘pioneers’. • Growth in the Pacific has led to new challenges for Australian religious institutes to provide leadership of and support for their members in Oceania and, in many instances, there is the lack of capacity for indigenous leadership.
More info: www.catholicreligious.org.au
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Image Copyrights: jamberooabbey.org.au presentationsociety.org.au mglsisters.org littlesistersofthepoor.org.au salesiansisters.asn.au goodsams.org.au australianursulines.org.au
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Australian Catholic Bishops Conference National Centre for Pastoral Research
More information Dr Trudy Dantis [email protected] GPO Box 368 Canberra ACT 2601 Australia +61 2 6201 9812 ncpr.catholic.org.au
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