Statistical data on the Church in the Czech Republic

The Press Office of the Holy See has released today (Aug 25, 2009) statistical data about the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, as a part of preparations for the apostolic visit of Pope Benedict XVI to our country.

Vatican: As of Dec 31, 2008, the Czech Republic had 10,380,000 inhabitants, out of them 3,290,000 Catholics (31.7 %). There are 9 ecclesiastical administration units (5 dioceses in Bohemia, 3 dioceses in Moravia and the apostolic exarchate of the Greek-Catholic Church), within them 2,576 parishes and 70 other pastoral centers.

Within the spiritual and pastoral care, 20 bishops are involved (out of them three Greek-Catholic), 1,370 diocesan and 586 religious priests (total of 1,956 priests), 178 permanent deacons, 116 religious brothers, 1,609 religious sisters, 160 members of secular institutes and 1,109 catechists. There are 184 seminarians in major seminaries.

The Catholic Church in the Czech Republic operates 39 infant and primary schools, attended by 5,412 children, 33 secondary schools with 8,525 students, and 7 universities with 2,040 students. The Church also runs 50 hospitals, 98 ambulances, 134 homes for seniors and disabled, 59 orphanages and children homes, 58 family and pro-life consulting rooms, 170 centers of further education and retraining, and 28 other institutes.

Pope Benedict XVI will come to the Czech Republic on Sep 26-28, 2009 and during his visit he will meet representatives of the ecclesiastical as well as political life, academic world, representatives of other Christian churches, youth and faithful at several meetings in Prague, Brno and Stara Boleslav. Detailed schedule is available HERE.