A Dec. 21 article draws attention to a diocese that might show the future of the American church: the Diocese of Greenburg, Pennsylvania, where more than a third of priests hail from countries other than the U.S.
According to the article in TribLife by Quincey Reese, the diocese currently operates 78 parishes and has 71 priests in active ministry, with 24 of the priests being foreign-born.
Bishop Larry Kulick indicated that international priests are a huge part of why many parishes continue to offer Mass and the sacraments regularly.
“You take away our international priests, I don’t know what I would do to staff parishes,” he said, according to TribLife. “Parish life would look a lot different.”
The Diocese of Greenburg, like many dioceses in the nation, faces economic challenges and population decline, which the bishop indicated make it difficult to recruit American seminarians.
The diocese began seeking international priests in 2010. According to TribLife, after a series of interviews, priests are offered the chance to spend five years in the diocese, and some choose to stay after the period is up.
One priest who began his service in the diocese in 2023 is Father Jay Jacinto. He had been teaching at a seminary in his native Philippines for more than 10 years when he felt the call to missionary work.
“I was nervous,” Jacinto said, according to TribLife. “I was afraid, but then I just saw it as a new challenge for me, a learning experience and an opportunity, of course, to be able to share the goodness of Christ.”
The Church in the US experienced a 40% decrease in the number of priests between 1970 and 2020, according to TribLife. According to The Dialog, 90% of U.S. dioceses rely on foreign-born clergy.
These changes are occurring as interest in the Catholic faith is rising across the country. Father Michael Conway, the diocese’s episcopal vicar for clergy, told TribLife that the diocese has seen a marked increase in those taking part in OCIA.
All this comes at a time of increased scrutiny on foreigners working in the U.S. As the Trump administration has cracked down on immigration, foreign-born priests and religious have sometimes been caught in the political crosshairs, as CatholicVote has previously reported.
Congress has made a bipartisan effort to ensure foreign-born clergy serving legally in the country are not impacted by crackdowns.
However, problems persist, as in the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York, which has advised foreign-born priests and religious not to leave the country. This came after a priest of the diocese, Father John Ojuok, was denied re-entry from his home country of Kenya. Fr. Ojuok, who had returned home to visit his mother and renew his passport visa stamp, was denied entry in September.
Father Christopher Carrara, the diocese’s episcopal vicar for clergy, said that Fr. Ojuok was given no reason from immigration authorities for their refusal to allow his re-entry.
“I’m pro law and order,” Fr. Carrara told 7News WWNYTV. “I’m pro legal immigration. I’m pro our officers that work, I’m pro it all. Pro-government. But with all this extra scrutiny, it’s made it harder for people to legally immigrate, or just come here and work.”
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