The Catholic World Report (CWR) published a study analyzing the spiritual “fruitfulness” of the 175 Latin-rite dioceses in the U.S. and ranked two Missouri dioceses among the 20 most fruitful in the nation: the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph (11th) and the Diocese of Jefferson City (14th).
The study based its findings on four metrics listed in the 2024 edition of The Official Catholic Directory: 1) diocesan seminarians per number of Catholics; 2) weddings per number of Catholics; 3) infant baptisms per number of Catholics; 4) non-infant receptions into the Church per number of Catholics.
CWR noted the following: “Although other measures of fruitfulness doubtless exist, these four categories may collectively be used to measure the fruitfulness of each of the nation’s dioceses. The statistics in the Directory have their limits, but they are still the best statistics upon which journalists of today, historians of tomorrow, and other interested Catholics may draw.”
The other two Missouri dioceses, the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and the Archdiocese of St. Louis, also ranked in the upper half of the list.
To read the full CWR study, click here.