[Alex Murphy]

595 men are expected to be ordained to the priesthood in the United States in 2015, an increase of 24.7% over last year’s figure of 477, according to data released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The number of men ordained to the priesthood in the US fell steadily from 994 in 1965, to 771 in 1975, 533 in 1985, 511 in 1995, and 454 in 2005, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

So despite this recent 25% improvement, ordinations are still down 40% overall since 1965.

[Don Corleone]

So despite this recent 25% improvement, ordinations are still down 40% overall since 1965.

And not enough to replace those retiring or dying.

[trad_anglican]

So despite this recent 25% improvement, ordinations are still down 40% overall since 1965.

Congratulations, you've demonstrated the ability to perform 4th grade mathematical calculations.

[al_c]

So despite this recent 25% improvement, ordinations are still down 40% overall since 1965.

Progress, even in small steps, is still progress.

[dangus]

Yes, but 1950s-1970s American Catholicism was an abbheration, a time of de-facto schism and poor quality control for the seminaries. I bet half of those priests expected to be able to get married within a decade.

[Campion]

The numbers are not really very helpful. 1965 was probably the historic high-water mark, at least for raw numbers of ordinations. A more valuable statistic would be priests ordained per year per N practicing Catholics, going back further than 1965.