The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-09-09
ACCESSIONS TO THE "ONE
i. '"1 - FOLD 't

The publishers of the Official
| Catholic Directory are making a
special effort to obtain from the
diocesan chanceries reliable stats
tics regarding the number Of con-
verts annually received into the
| Church in the United States. Six
ty-nine dioceses with a Catholic
population Of 8,O82,9O0, reported
| 1900 converts. At the same ratio,
the remaining thirty-tWo dioceses,
with a Catholic population of
| 8,481,500 should show a larger
number, making total of
approximately $4,000. This is a
matter Of so much Importance
as an evidence Of the healthy
growth of the Church and the
vital appeal which her teaching
makes to the non-Catholic world,
that it is surprising how meager
is the accurate information we
have about it. We all know in a
general way that no inconsiderable
accessions to the ranks Of the
Church, through conversions, are
made every year; but how great
these accessiOns are we have no
means Of knowing with any degree
OF definitiveness, because no con-
certed effort has been made
throughout the country to gather
reliable data ON this point.
The Apostolic Mission House in
Washington has tried for several
years to secure information from
it's missionaries and others about
the number of converts to Catho-
licity. It places the average
yearly number of those who enter
the zone fold' at about 10000.
An estimate made by the editor
Of the "Catholic Convert" places
the number Of converts received
into the Church in the United
States during the year 1915 be-
tween 10000 and $4,000. The
pastors Of parishes who are
actively engaged in the work Of
the ministry on the firing line and
who are brought into immediate
and personal contact with, those
outside the Church, do not hesitate
to say that this number falls far
short Of the reality. They judge
from the number Of converts made
each year in their own and the
neighboring parishes.
For many reasons it would be
interesting to know just how
many non-Catholics are received
into the Church annually in this
country. 1t would be invaluable
as an indication Of the pulling
power" so to speak, Of Catho-
licism and a measure Of the
spiritual attraction which it has
for the average Protestant. It
would stimulate to greater effort
the priests and people who are
now striving, with more or less
success, to place the claims of the
Church, as a religious organiza-
ton, more clearly before the nons
Catholic world; and it would be
an incentive to others to cooper
ate with them and add their mite
to the work now being done along
these lines.
Every Catholic is, or ought to
be, a missionary to his non-Catho-
lie friends, an apostle, or Zone
sent" to thase who do not wor-
ship before his altar. This is espe-
cially true of the intelligent Cath
Ollie who cannot dissociate himself
from the work Of evangelization
which is the essential feature Of
the divine charter given to the
Church when the Saviour said to
the Apostles: "Going, therefore,
teach we all nations. The work
Of the Church is to sanctify and
save souls and that she cannot do
unless they are brought under her
immediate jurisdiction by submits
sion to her spiritual sway.
In many dioceses throughout
the country the Bishop, on his
confirmation tour, keeps a record
of the number of converts in the
classes presented to him for Con-
firlnation. Wherever Confirmation
is given each year this will show
the yearly accessions to the True
Fold in the territory from which
| the class is drawn; and in other
cases it indicates the number of
converts made since the previous
confirmation. But even this is
valuable as an index of the
Church s growth.
In this Diocese the Most Rev
erend Archbishop and Bishop
Trobec, who assisted him III con-
ferring the Sacrament Of Confr-
nation last spring, kept a rec
ord of the converts in each class
and it is consoling to know that
the number in each parish is not
inconsiderable. BY this means it
is possible to obtain a good idea of
the average number of conversions
| each vnaF Tho pooord would bo