Collapse of priestly ordinations in France. Francis-effect preventing any revival.

The French Bishops Conference (CEF) has published – detailing by diocese – the number of priestly ordinations in France in 2023. For the first time, the ordinations from a structure of the Tradition are indicated, namely those of the FSSP – but those of other traditional structures in communion with Rome, such as the IBP or the ICRSP, are forgotten. Nevertheless, there is a collapse of diocesan ordinations, even taking into account the few oversights...

Number of ordinations 1930-1980.....now down to 88 compared with the post-war maximum of 1600.

For the year 2023, according to the count of the CEF, 88 priests will be ordained, distributed as follows:

52 diocesan priests [including nine for historic Brittany alone, which represents nearly one in five diocesan priests]

19 from a congregation, community or society of apostolic life (note: 5 of them are already counted among diocesan priests)

18 religious priests (including 1 already counted in the diocese of Amiens)

5 priests celebrating according to the Roman missal of 1962 [in reality, at least seven, the French priests ordained by the ICRSP and the IBP having been forgotten – and those, obviously, of the SSPX and the Resistance]

As a reminder, in 2022, still according to the count of the CEF, 116 priests had been ordained, including 77 diocesan and 22 from congregations or communities. There is therefore a drop of a third of priestly ordinations from the dioceses, and a drop of a quarter of ordinations in general over one year, all sources combined.

Decline in vocations which is explained, without really convincing, by a “continuous trend of declining vocations within the Church, which we have observed for twenty years, and which many sociologists of religions have documented“. How to explain the very significant difference in vocations between traditional communities – in France and all over the world – and diocesan parishes, in particular? In the Diocese of Créteil, which does not ordain priests this year, but three deacons, the only one who comes from the Diocese comes from the traditional community of Saint Maurice.

Moreover, it appears quite blatantly this year – both for priestly and diaconal ordinations – that many “diocesan” vocations are in fact fidei donum from African or Indian seminaries. The number of vocations really coming from French parishes tends towards zero – a situation that the Church in France is careful not to comment on.

Ordained diocesan priests (total: 52):

[this is the count of the CEF, where there are omissions – the ICRSP ordained a Frenchman among the priests of the year, the Jesuits, two priests and not one, there was a priest ordained in Cayenne and not two, a priest ordained in Fort-de-France has on the other hand been forgotten, two priests will be ordained in Moulins and not one, etc.]

Province of Bordeaux (total: 2)

Diocese of Bayonne: 2 (both from the neo-catechumenal path)

Province of Clermont (total: 1)

Diocese of Moulins: 1

Province of Lille (total 1)

Diocese of Cambrai: 1

Province of Lyon (total: 2)

Diocese of Lyon: 2

Province of Marseilles (total: 5)

Diocese of Avignon: 1 (note: ordination in December 2022)

Diocese of Marseilles: 3

Diocese of Nice: 1

Province of Montpellier (total: 3)

Diocese of Montpellier: 1

Diocese of Perpignan-Elne: 2

Province of Paris (total: 10)

Diocese of Créteil: 1

Diocese of Meaux: 1 (from the Foreign Missions of Paris MEP)

Diocese of Nanterre: 1

Diocese of Paris: 5

Diocese of Versailles: 2

Province of Poitiers (total: 2)

Diocese of Angoulême: 1

Diocese of La Rochelle: 1

Province of Reims (total: 3)

Diocese of Amiens: 2 (including one from the Lazarists)

Diocese of Langres: 1

Province of Rennes (total: 10)

Diocese of Luzon: 1

Diocese of Nantes: 2

Diocese of Quimper: 2

Diocese of Rennes: 3 (including 2 from the Emmanuel Community)

Diocese of Saint-Brieuc: 1

Diocese of Vannes: 1

Province of Toulouse (total: 4)

Diocese of Auch: 1

Diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes: 1

Diocese of Toulouse: 2

Dioceses directly under the Holy See (total: 5)

Diocese to the Armies: 1

Diocese of Metz: 1

Diocese of Strasbourg: 2

Prelature of the Mission of France: 1

Overseas Dioceses (total: 4)

Diocese of Basse-Terre: 1

Diocese of Cayenne: 2

Diocese of Saint-Denis of Reunion: 1

Breakdown of priests ordained in the service of a Diocese from a congregation, community or society of apostolic life (total: 19)

Community of Saint Martin: 7

Emmanuel Community: 2 (already counted in the Diocese of Rennes)

Chemin Neuf Community: 6

Neo-catechumenal path: 2 (already counted in the Diocese of Bayonne)

Foreign Missions of Paris (MEP): 1 (already accounted for in the Diocese of Meaux)

Society of Priests of Saint James: 1

Ordained religious priests (total: 18)

Society of Jesus (Jesuits): 1

Community of Saint John: 1

Discalced Carmelite Orders (Province of Avignon-Aquitaine): 1

Congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption: 2

Order of Saint Benedict (Benedictines): 2

Order of Brother Preachers (Province of Toulouse): 4

Ganagobie Abbey: 1

Vincentian: 1 (already counted in the diocese of Amiens)

Montfortians: 1

Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales: 4

Distribution of priests, ordained to the service of a diocese, celebrating according to the Roman missal of 1962 (total: 5)

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter: 5

Source