The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-04

NUMBER OF CATHOLICS IN UNITED
STATES Is " At 1%0,e76,.5s.
surprising Statement Made that Fifty
DiOceses. Including Pig Cities,
Are at 81 StandstiIL

Rrooklyn Eagle.
What the publishers claim to be the off
oial directory containing complete reports
of all dioceses in the United States of the
Catholic Church has just been issued for the
year 1902. The tabulated statement it pre-
sents gives the number of Catholics in the
United States as 1896, 757.
This directory is compiled from reports
made each year by the diocesan officials of
the Catholic Church in answer TO a circular
table of statistical questions sent out by the
publishers. 1t ought therefore TO have the
value Of an official character, yet an
analysis Of the figures offered for each of
the eighty-seven dioceses OF the country
gives somewhat unsatisfactory. results.
The total of the Catholic population-10,-
$40. 757-is an increase of POI, 76S over the to-
tai given in the directory for 1901. The de-
tails of the table of the eighty-seven do
ceses from which this total for 1902 was
reached show that fifty Of the dioceses stood
absolutely still, neither gaining nor losing
a single Catholic during the year; thirty
four show gains and six losses. There is
believed to be something wrong about the
figures when fifty of the diOceses show q
changes during the year. This is all
more apparent when their location is / =
Gated and considered. for, according to- mis-
official" table, these stagnant parts of the
church are Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati.
Dubuque, Milwaukee, New Orleans. New
York, st. Louis. st. Paul, San Francisco,
Santa Fe, Albany. Alton. Boise, Brooklyn,
Burlington, Cleveland, Covington, Dallas,
Davenport, Detroit. Duluth. Erie, Fargo.
Green Bay. Harrisburg, Hartford. Helena,
Kansas City. Leavenworth, Little Rock,
Louisville, Manchester, Marquette, Non
terey. Los Angeles. Nashville. Natchitoches,
Nesqually, Newark. Omaha, Providence,
Richmond st. Augustine, St. Joseph.
Scranton. Salt Lake, San Antonio. Savan-
Tucson, Wheeling and Brownsville.
The Increases noted are: Boston, 10000;
New Orleans. 25.oe: oregon. 400: Philadel-
phia. 5000; Belleville, 5000; Buffalo, $500;
Charleston. 5000; Cheyenne. LOCO; Denver.
10000; Galveston. $1,000; indianapolis, %; La
Cross, 5,0e: Lincoln. $3.50: Mobile, sol; Nat
Portland, 5000; Rochester. 5000; Trenton,
$500: Wichita. 2,310; Winona. 5000; Indian
Territory LAO; North Carolina, 500, and
Alaska. SOC.
The dioceses that show losses are: Column
bus. 1000: Concordia. 1850; Fort Wayne,
1000; ST. Cloud. 500; Grand Rapids, 60; Pitts
burg, 10000. This last large figure is eX-
planned by the fact that the new diocese of
Altoona was formed in this territory since
the figures of 1901 were tabulated.
INACCURACY SUGGESTED.
Complaint has been made before that the
diocesan officials do not seem to appreciate
the value of accuracy in making out their
figures for the directory every year. The
details above cited, from the returns for
1902. would appear to show that these com
plants are we'll founded. They are of very
little value for comparative or historical
use.
Early in January of this year DR.. H. *.
Carroll, who was in charge OF the religious
statistics of the United States census of
1890, and who has since then annually made
up figures on the growth of the churches,
published a table of statistics for the year.
He made out that the number of Catholics
in the United States was 915S,Hl. an in
crease for the year of 46S,OS3. He stated
that he considered this increase too high
and regarded the figures as those of the
growth of several years in a large proper
ton of the dioceses. His figures are there
fore at variance with those of the official
directory. His tables also are made up by
an enumeration of a class ne calls com
municants, a term not recognized by Cath
Ollie authorities. as il excludes the younger
children. In the Catholic view every one
from the Pope to the most recently baptized
infant is included in the church membership.
Therefore DR.. Carroll's totals were not ac-
cepted by Catholic circles. Archbishop Ire
land has placed the actual membership of
the church in the United States at 1900. 600.
The Statistician satisfactory to everybody
anu 6lN MS PAOOlo - aSCoAoNS
has still to be found, but it is obvious that
Boston could not have gained 10000 Catho-
lies during the past year If New York did
not increase or decrease even one. However,
taking the figures of the directory as they
are given, they say that the CATHOLIC Church
in the United States now has in its official
management one delegate apostolic, the Of
fetal representative of the Pope; one car
dinal, thirteen archbishops. eighty-one bish-
ops. a gain of one; 12,429 priests. a gain OF
Az. These are divided into 9,3lS parochial
/ rNfacAc "a 0aip Of Q1 and 2111 mQnlh6rC nf
the regular orders, a gain of 1O1-
There are 10,6S9 churches, a gain of 262.
Of the churches 1854 have resident pastors,
| a gain of 727. and 1886 are missions with
churches. a gain of 81.
A curious loss scheduled for the year is
that of a university. In 1901 there were
there are only seven. The missing one, ac-
cording 10 the table, was located in New
York. Has any one heard of a Catholic
university shutting up hereabouts during
1901?
Further educational statistics indicate
that there are 81 seminaries, a gain of 8,
with 3,402 students. a gain OF Z. The COL
leges for boys number 16S, a loss of 20.
which is even more surprising than the
vanished university; and the academies for
girls. 629. a loss Of IS. There are 1851 par
ishes with schools. a gain of As. and 9l9.37s
children attending them, a gain or 5,39S.
According to these figures there are 1897
OF the 1854 parishes i'm the United states
having resident pastors that nave no
schools attached TO their churches.
SHOWING IN NEW YORK.
It is claimed. that there are 424 parish
schools in the State of New York, with an
attendance of 126, 239 pupils.
An average of five o~rphanages 10 each
State makes a good showing for charitable
work, the whole number being pa, a loss OF
three. These shelter So 1903 inmates. an in
crease of SIS. The total charitable institu-
lions number So. a decrease of eight. and
the total of children In charitable institu-
tions, LOIS. 66l, an increase of 23,029. Nearly
all the regular orders are represented in the
church here. In New York there are lS
regular priests and SIS secular or parochial.
The regulars have charge of twenty-siX city
parishes out of a total OF III. In Chicago,
out of III parishes. they have twenty-one
and the priests are divided into l59 regulars
and 379 seculars. In St. Louis there are Isl
regulars and $50 seculars. and the former
have nine of the siXty-six parishes. In BoS-
ton the division is ninety-eight regulars and
42S s~eculars, with twelve of the forty-ive
parishes in charge of the former The pro-
portions in other large cities range about
the same.
New York. with an estimated Catholic
population OF 100000. is the banner diocese.
There are 1G churches in the city, 156 in
the country, 156 chapels and thirty-one sta
lions without churches, which are regularly
visited. The priests number 16 and the
theological students l5l. In the colleges and
academies for boys there are 2.652 students
/ and in those for girls = 81 In the fffV-uinp