NEWS

Lexington Diocese Ranked in Top 20 Nationwide

LEXINGTON–The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington recently was ranked number 19 out of 176 dioceses in the country. A study titled “The State of the Catholic Church in America, Diocese by Diocese,” evaluated each diocese on three main points – ordinations of priests, the overall change in active priests, and adult conversions to Catholicism.  In a similar study 10 years ago, the Lexington Diocese was ranked number 35.

The Very Reverend Mark Dreves, Vicar General and Vocation Director for the diocese, said he is very pleased with the improved ranking.

“This study proves that our efforts are paying dividends,” he said.  “We were ranked number 8 in adult receptions, which refers to people who have converted to Catholicism. I believe the leadership of Bishop Gainer, RCIA Leaders, priests and parish life directors contributed greatly to this and to our overall success.”

The study found that the vitality of a diocese is directly related to its bishop. According to the authors, “Successful bishops are joyful… Successful bishops assume personal responsibility for the outcomes that are their priorities. They are personally involved in leading men to discern a vocation. They are personally involved in promoting the morale of their priests. And they are investing themselves in programs of evangelization.”

The study also found that dioceses at the top of the ranking used their websites to focus on vocations. The Lexington diocese created www.IChoseYou.com to help all people in determining what God wants for them.

"There are so many options for people today that it often can be overwhelming to make many of the decisions with which they are faced—marriage vs. the single life, how and where to raise their family, attending church or not," Rev. Dreves said.

Through research conducted with each parish by Erick Sandstad, of the Sandstad Group, the Diocese gained greater insight into opportunities that existed for cultivating vocations.

“We were pleased to learn that this study supported the direction we were heading in with the website,” said Sandstad, an outside consultant who also serves as the diocese’s vocation coordinator. “As a result of our bishop’s and vicar general’s vision, we have developed communication tools that are already resulting in more vocations.”

The study also found that the number of Catholics in the United States has grown in the last 10 years. According to the 2005 Official Catholic Directory, nearly 66 million people were Catholic, an increase of 19 percent from 1995. American dioceses and national surveys show that 22 to 24 percent of people living in the United States are Catholic.

The study was conducted by Rev. Rodger Hunter-Hall, who is completing a doctoral thesis on aspects of the history of the Church in the United States, and Steven Wagner, president of QEV Analytics, an opinion research firm. The results were published in the March issue of CRISIS Magazine, a publication about the Catholic faith and modern America. For more information on the study, visit www.crisismagazine.com.

The Catholic Diocese of Lexington, a mission diocese, covers 50 counties in the central and eastern half of the state. It has 64 parishes and missions serving more than 48,000 Catholics and thousands of non-Catholics through its charitable programs.

20 Highest Ranked Dioceses Overall

1. Knoxville, Tenn.

2. Savannah, Ga.

3. Kalamazoo, Mich.

4. Alexandria, La.

5. Pensacola – Tallahassee, Fla.

6. Santa Fe, N.M.

7. Birmingham, Ala.

8. Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va.

9. Anchorage, Alaska

10. Biloxi, Miss.

11. Lansing, Mich.

12. Lubbock, Texas

13. Little Rock, Ark.

14. Cheyenne, Wyo.

15. Colorado Springs, Colo.

16. Denver, Colo.

17. Venice, Fla.

18. Beaumont, Texas

19. Lexington, Ky.

19. Charlotte, N.C.