Report
CARA Report: The Class of 2016: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood (2016)
The Class of 2016: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood by Mary L. Gautier, Ph.D. and Thomas P. Gaunt, S.J., Ph.D., Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University, April 2016
This report presents findings from a national survey of ordinands to the priesthood in 2016. To obtain the names and contact information for these ordinands, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) contacted all theologates and houses of formation in fall 2015 to request names and contact information for every seminarian who was scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood in 2016. CARA also requested names from the vocation director at all dioceses and archdioceses in the United States as well as the major superior of all U.S. based institutes of men religious and asked for their support in encouraging their potential ordinands to complete the survey.
CARA then contacted the ordinands by e-mail to explain the project and ask them to complete a brief online survey. At the same time, CARA also e-mailed a similar request to the vocation director at all U.S. dioceses and archdioceses as well as all major superiors of clerical and mixed religious institutes, asking them to encourage their ordinands to participate in the online survey.
After repeated follow-up with the ordinands, a total of 440 ordinands responded to the survey by March 18, 2016. This represents a response rate of approximately 80 percent of the 548 potential ordinands reported to CARA by theologates, houses of formation, arch/dioceses, and religious institutes. These 440 ordinands include 352 ordinands to the diocesan priesthood, from 140 different dioceses and archdioceses, and 88 ordinands to the religious priesthood.