The Relationship Between the Funding Models of Catholic High Schools and Seminary Enrollment

Abstract

The United States is facing a decline in the number of ordained priests. According to Breitenstein, (2014), “America's Catholic population is rising by one percent annually but seminary enrollment is flat forcing hundreds of parishes to close or consolidate. If this trend continues, there may not be enough priests to minister to the Catholic population throughout the United States. This mixed method study included a quantitative survey to collect data on the type of funding of Catholic high schools and the number of high school graduates who entered seminary in 2017. The online Quintessential Instructional Archive (QUIA) survey was sent to 737 principals of Catholic high schools. Usable data were collected from 73 principals from Catholic high schools on the type of funding and the number of students who entered the seminary post-graduation. Fewer than 10% of the sample responded to the survey. Data for the hypothesis for the quantitative portion of the study was not analyzed due to the unreliability associated with the return rate.Qualitative data included the results of interviews with five seminarians from tuition funded high schools and five seminarians from stewardship funded high schools regarding their perceptions of why they entered the seminary (e.g, initial call to a vocation, type of encouragement, and type of funding for their Catholic high school education). Results from the qualitative portion of the study indicated the initial call to the priesthood occurred during early elementary years. In addition, seminarians indicated they received many and different types of encouragement to enter the seminary. Seminarians also reported the need for different funding to support Catholic school education. Study findings may aid diocesan and Catholic school leaders in making important decisions related to increasing the number of future seminarians.