This report presents findings from a national survey of seminarians scheduled for ordination to the priesthood in 2026. The report is a part of collaboration between the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations and the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). The purpose of this report is to compile information regarding men who are ordained to priesthood in the United States, within a particular year.

The survey was administered between Feb. 12 and March 20, 2026. Out of 428 ordinands invited to participate, 334 ordinands responded to the survey. The response rate is 78 percent.



Type of priesthood

-- Four in five responding ordinands (81 percent) are preparing for ordination to a diocese or eparchy. Responding ordinands in religious institutes comprise 19 percent. The largest group of responding ordinands (35 percent) is completing studies at one of the seminaries in the Midwest. Relatively few (5 percent) are completing studies at a seminary abroad.

-- On average, responding diocesan ordinands lived in the diocese or eparchy for which they will be ordained for 16 years before they entered the seminary. Responding ordinands in religious institutes knew the members of their religious institute for five years, on average, before entering.



Age

-- On average, responding ordinands first considered priesthood when they were 16 years old. Responding ordinands were scheduled for ordination, on average, 17 years later (at the age of 33).



Race/ethnicity and culture

-- Six in 10 responding ordinands (62 percent) are Caucasian. One in six (17 percent) is Hispanic/Latino. One in 10 (11 percent) is Asian/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian. One in 20 (5 percent) is African/African American/Black.

-- A third (35 percent) is foreign-born. The three most common countries of birth among the foreign-born are Vietnam (5 percent of all responding ordinands), Mexico (3 percent), and Colombia (2 percent). On average, foreign-born responding ordinands came to live in the United States 14 years ago, at the age of 22.



Education

-- One in 10 responding ordinands (11 percent) reported being home schooled. Among those who were home schooled, the average length of home schooling was nine years.

-- At least 65 percent responding ordinands attended a Catholic school at the K-12 and/or college level. Six in 10 responding ordinands (63 percent) participated in a religious education program in their parish, for six years on average.

-- Three in five responding ordinands (61 percent) completed an undergraduate degree or a graduate degree before entering the seminary.

-- Among those who attended an undergraduate or graduate college before entering the seminary, the most common fields of study included philosophy/theology, engineering, business, and science or math.

-- Two in 10 responding ordinands (21 percent) carried educational debt at the time they entered the seminary (or religious institute), which was $33,206 on average. Between entering seminary and ordination, the average amount of debt carried by responding ordinands in religious institutes decreased by 79 percent and the average amount of debt carried by responding diocesan ordinands decreased by 24 percent since entering the seminary (unadjusted for inflation).



Work

-- Two in three responding ordinands (64 percent) reported having full-time work experience prior to entering the seminary.

-- Four percent served in the U.S. Armed Forces.



Family background

-- Nine in 10 responding ordinands (93 percent) reported being baptized Catholic as an infant. Among those who became Catholic later in life, the average age of conversion was 20.

-- Nearly nine in 10 responding ordinands (86 percent) reported that both their parents were Catholic when they were children. The vast majority of responding ordinands (97 percent) were raised during the most formative part of their childhood by their biological parents.

-- Three in 10 responding ordinands (28 percent) have or had a relative who is a priest or religious.



Vocational discernment

-- In regard to prayer practices, four in five responding ordinands participated in Eucharistic adoration (81 percent) on a regular basis before entering the seminary, as compared to 79 percent who prayed rosary, 52 percent who participated in a prayer/Bible group, and 48 percent who engaged in Lectio Divina.

-- In regard to group activities, three-fifths of responding ordinands (64 percent) participated in a parish youth group before entering the seminary, as compared to 31 percent who participated in Catholic campus ministry, 31 percent who participated in Boy Scouts, 29 percent who participated in Knights of Columbus/ Knights of Peter Claver, and 27 percent who participated in a parish young adult group.

-- In regard to participation in parish ministries, four in five responding ordinands (79 percent) served as altar servers before entering the seminary, as compared to 49 percent who served as lectors, 35 percent who served as EMHC, 34 percent who served in Campus/Youth ministry, and 32 percent who served as catechists.

-- Nine in 10 responding ordinands (92 percent) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life [most frequently by parish priest (70 percent), friend (49 percent), mother (46 percent), or parishioner (44 percent)].

-- Two in five responding ordinands (41 percent) indicated that they were discouraged from considering the priesthood by one or more persons. Most often, this person was a friend or school classmate, mother, father, or other family member.



Formation

-- In regard to participation in formation activities in seminary, seven in 10 responding ordinands (68 percent) reported that pastoral year internship contributed at least "somewhat" to their vocation.

-- Half say these formation activities contributed to their vocations: clinical pastoral education (52 percent), a priestly fraternity group (46 percent), and pastoral language immersion (45 percent).



The full report is available here: www.usccb.org/resources/Report-Ordination%20Class%202026-April%2008-FINAL.pdf.