Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1918-05-15
17,416,303 CATHOLICS
IN UNITED STATES
1913, 424 Increase for Year; $685.
SO. for Ten Years Shown.
STATE OF IOWA

Sos IOf ltn ledTS SHONn.
STATE OF IOWA
HAS 265,5OO
States Have Over 100000 of
Faith.
There are 17.416,3O3 Catholics
Island possessiGns) according to
of THE Official Catholic Directory"
| Up. ]. Kennedy & Sons, Barclay
street, New York; and the net in
crease in the number of Catholics
/ for the year 1917 amounts to 1885,
j424. Fifty-nine dioceses and arch
bishops reported increases, four
showed decreases and % made ex-
changes in the population figure.
This does not mean that the 38 do
ceses in question are at a stand
still but simply indicates that no
new diocesan census was passible
last year.
| Comparing the figures of the
1918 issue with those of the 1908
volume it is found that the in
crease in the number Of Catho-
lies during the last ten years has
been 3,53S,S77.
who has compiled the directory for
more that decade, the figures IT,
416.393 is not at all exaggerated,
in fact. the figure is low as no re-
cords can be kept of the floating
Catholic population and as nearly
all of the 3S dioceses making no
change have, without doubt, in
creased in population during the
Ipast year.
Special care was taken so that
the young men in the military SER
vice would not be counted twice,
that is, once in the diocese in which
1.-THE camp or cantonment was located
and again in their home dioceses.
Arrangements were made to in
clude only the Catholic soldiers and
sailors in their home dioceses.
When the 1906 government re-
ligious census was published Is per
cent was deducted for children and
religious census was announced Mr..
Meier took the matter up with the
census officials and was informed
that for the 1916 census the govern
ment authorities would not deduct
1.-THE Is per cent. The census Of
ficials advised that 1t had been de-
cided to present the full 1916
membership reported by each re-
ligious body or denomination.
If to the 17,416,303, which is the
Catholic population of the United
States proper, are added to the num-
Der of Catholics in Alaska, the
Canal Zone, the Virgin islands,
Guam, the United States possessions
in Samoa, the Hawaiian islands,
Porto Rico and the Philippine is
lands, it is found that the total num-
Der of Catholics under the protec-
Ition of the Stars and Stripes Is &c.
266,642.
According to the general summary
of the publication there are now
20,477 Catholic priests in the United
States. OF this number 1892 are
secular priests and 5,555 are priests
of religious orders. Other figures
taken from the summary are as fol-
lows: Archbishops, 10; bishops, 3d.;
churches with resident priests, 10,
800; missions with churches, 5,44S;
seminaries, loo; seminarians, 1928;
parochial schools, BIAS; children at
tending parochial schools, 1888
407; colleges for boys, 217, acede-
mics for girls, ST.; orphan asylums,
297; homes for aged, 109.
According to the new official
Catholic directory 81 states in the
Union have a Catholic population
OF 100000 or over and during the
year Louisiana has forged ahead OF
Wisconsin, beating the badger state
by over 1000 in the race for eighth
place California, also, has taken
step forward .crowding Missouri
out of tenth place and Indiana has
passed Iowa, the Hoosier state now
being in seventeenth place and
Iowa in eighteenth place. According
to Mr. Meier, the Catholic popu-
lation of the 81 states is as follows: